Long Island sees FIFTH shark attack in just two weeks after tourist and surfer are bitten HOURS apart on same beach
A TOURIST was bitten by a shark off the coast of Long Island on Wednesday evening, just hours after a surfer was attacked on the same stretch.
Following the two attacks on July 13, there have now been five reported shark incidents in New York in just two weeks.
Surfer Shawn Donnely, 41, was knocked off his board when a sand Tiger shark attacked off the coast of Smith Point Beach on Wednesday.
The shark caused Shawn to lose control and to fall off his board, and the bite to his calf left a four-inch gash wound, he told .
Shawn added: "It got my left calf...when I was falling off my board, I saw the fin and its back."
Though injured, he was able to catch a wave that carried him back to safety on the shore.
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Later that day, at Seaview Beach, a 49-year-old tourist from Arizona was wading in the water around 6pm when he was attacked by a shark.
According to the , police said the "shark came up from behind and bit him on the left wrist and buttocks."
Though the man could still walk, he was flown to Stony Brook University Hospital with "non-life-threatening injuries," the Post reported.
The attack on the tourist came merely 12 hours after surfer Shawn's.
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Before Wednesday's attacks, John Mullins, 17, who was participating in lifeguard training, was attacked by a shark on July 7 at around 11am at Ocean Beach.
Before that, lifeguard Zach Gallo, 33, was bitten while he was doing training exercises at Smith Point Beach.
Zach had been playing a mock victim in a lifeguard training exercise on Sunday, July 3, when a shark attacked him, according to the Post.
The Smith Point Beach lifeguard told WCBS-TV that he felt a "sharp pain."
The rubbery texture, Zach mentioned, is what let him know he was encountering a shark.
He punched the shark in an effort to evade the attack.
On June 30, a 57-year-old man reportedly suffered a laceration on June 30 while swimming off Jones Beach.
A staggering 22 people in the US have experienced shark attacks in 2022 alone, according to surprising data.
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On Wednesday, an official notice was put out for Smith Point Beach that suspended swimming due to "dangerous marine life activity."
Swimming will remain suspended at Smith Point Beach and surrounding areas until further notice.
