Man bitten in leg by blacktip shark off Miami Beach

MIAMI BEACH, Fla. — A 31-year-old man suffered an 8-inch gash in his leg after he was bitten by a blacktip shark off Miami Beach on Wednesday, authorities said.

According to city officials, the man was bitten on the beach near the South Beach section of the city and suffered an injury just below his knee, WSVN reported.

Miami Beach Fire Rescue was able to stop the bleeding on the man’s leg, but he was taken to an area hospital as a precaution, the Miami Herald reported. He was listed in stable condition, the newspaper reported.

There appeared to be baitfish schools in the area when the man was attacked, a city spokesperson said. October is a prime time for mullet and baitfish in the Atlantic Ocean, which attract sharks. According to a Miami Beach spokesperson, double red flags have been flying at lifeguard stands to warn beachgoers against going into the water, according to WPLG.

“The lifeguard came and whistled,” Daniel Ciforelli, who was swimming at the time of the attack, told WSVN. “I’m like, ‘What? Is there a riptide?’ He goes, ‘No, someone just got bit by a shark.’”

One witness, who did not want to be identified, told WPLG that he saw the shark’s fin in the water and then the man, frantically swimming away from it.

“He walked out of the water, bleeding, with at least six bite marks on him,” the person told the television station. “Suddenly he came out of the water. He fell down.”

Cox Media Group