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Four injured in shark attacks on July 4 in Texas and Florida

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A shark bit three people off a beach in south Texas on July 4. The city’s fire chief called it an unprecedented incident. On the same day, another person was bitten by a shark in Florida, officials said.

In Texas, three people were bitten in the town of South Padre Island, on a barrier island near Brownsville. The shark was later located and “pushed into deeper waters,” said Fire Chief Jim Pigg.

“This is unprecedented here on South Padre Island,” he said. There were two shark bites on Thursday at different times and in different locations, he said.

Police responded to a 911 call reporting “a severe shark bite to the leg” at 11 a.m., city spokeswoman Nikki Soto said, and the victim was taken to a local hospital.

After a second 911 call about a shark attack, firefighters found two people who had been bitten by a shark, Pigg said. They were also taken to a hospital.

Kyle Jud, 46, said he saw a woman being pulled from the water with an apparent bite wound on her leg.

“The lifeguard picked her up – her calf was just gone, torn to pieces. Horrible,” said Jud. He posted a video of a shark in the water while a helicopter and boat patrolled.

One of the victims was flown out of a hospital in Brownsville for further treatment, the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department said.

“Encounters with sharks of this type are not common occurrences in Texas,” the agency said. “When shark bites do occur, they are usually a case of mistaken identity by sharks searching for food.”

Pigg said it was not yet clear what species of shark it was and an investigation was underway.

Lifeguards urged people on South Padre Island, a beach town of about 2,000 residents on the barrier island of the same name, to stay out of the water or at least not to go deeper than knee-deep, Pigg said.

There have been no further sightings since the shark was discovered and pushed into deeper waters, but Pigg said officials will remain vigilant.

South Padre Island Mayor Patrick McNulty said: “Our thoughts and prayers are with the injured and their families and we hope for a speedy recovery.”

In New Smyrna Beach, Florida, a 21-year-old man was bitten by a shark around 4 p.m. while playing football in knee-deep water, said Tamra Malphurs, interim director of Volusia County Beach Safety.

The man, who was visiting the city on the Atlantic coast from Ohio, was taken to a hospital. His injuries are not believed to be life-threatening, said Malphurs.

Last year, there were 36 unprovoked shark attacks on humans in the United States, resulting in two deaths, according to the latest annual report from the International Shark Attack File of the Florida Museum of Natural History.

The project, which documents shark attacks around the world, believes that the risk of being attacked by a shark is relatively low, but swimmers can further minimize the risk by staying in groups and closer to shore.

Phil Helsel

Phil Helsel is a reporter for NBC News.

Kayla McCormick contributed.

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