Two shark bite incidents in a row lead to closure of waterways in Florida County

The waters off Walton County, Florida, were closed after two consecutive shark bite incidents occurred there on Friday.

Both incidents occurred in Walton County — in the Florida Panhandle — and not near a boat, but officials aren’t clear how far from land the attacks occurred, said McKenzie McClintock, PIO of the South Walton Fire District.

The two incidents occurred about 4 miles apart within about 90 minutes, said Ryan Crawford, chief of the South Walton Fire District. There were three victims in total.

It was “extremely unusual” for two biting incidents to occur in one afternoon, Crawford said during a press conference in the evening.

A 45-year-old woman was injured in the first “reported shark incident,” which occurred around 1:20 p.m. in the water in Watersound, in the area of ​​Founders Way in Watersound Beach, Crawford and the Walton County Sheriff’s Office said.

Crawford said the woman was swimming past the first sandbar with her husband when the bite occurred.

“She suffered significant injuries to her midsection and pelvic area and her left forearm had to be amputated,” Crawford said.

The woman was taken to a medical center in critical condition, Crawford said.

After the first attack, double red flags were raised on beaches in surrounding areas to indicate the danger, the sheriff’s office said. The Gulf in Walton County was also closed to the public at the time.

Shortly thereafter, at 2:56 p.m., the Sheriff’s Office and Fire Department responded to a second shark incident in the Sandy Shores Court area off Seacrest Beach in Walton County.

There were two victims in the attack, Crawford said: two women between the ages of 15 and 17.

They were with a group of friends “right inside the first sandbar,” Crawford said, making the location “very similar” to the first attack.

The first victim suffered “severe injuries” to an upper and lower extremity, Crawford said. She was taken to a trauma center in critical condition.

The second victim had “flesh wounds” on his right foot and was in stable condition, Crawford said.

Walton County Sheriff Mike Atkinson said both women, who were in critical condition, had a “fighting chance” thanks to the quick response of residents and first responders.

After the second attack, authorities shut off water to the public throughout Walton County.

McClintock said officials do not know what type of shark bit the two victims, but sharks are common in these waters.

On Friday, authorities said it would take some time before allowing people to enter the water again, adding that they would likely reassess the situation on Saturday.

Atkinson said authorities have reached out to experts at Mote Marine in Sarasota, Florida, to determine if there was anything “unusual” about the two attacks, but he does not believe there was.