Indian River County Sheriff’s Office in Vero Beach, Florida shared a statement on Facebook saying that an adult male was bitten by a shark.
Officials said it happened in the ocean near Disney’s Vero Beach Resort and the man was taken to the Lawnwood Regional Medical Center to be treated.
“A 54-year-old man was alert and stable after a shark bit him in the leg while he was swimming in the ocean near Disney’s Vero Beach Resort,” Indian River County Sheriff’s Office shared on Facebook.
Battalion Chief Roger Dion with the Indian River County Fire Rescue said the shark bit down on the man’s calf, hear his knee on the front and back of his leg while he was boogie boarding in the ocean near the beachfront resort.
Roger told Treasure Coast Newspapers, “He didn’t see the shark, but it appeared to be a shark bite.”
The incident happened around 10:30am about 30 to 40 feet out in the water while the victim was vacationing with his wife at the resort. Witnesses said he immediately ran out of the ocean.
“I saw his face change. And then he started trying to get out of the water as fast as he could,” witness Ken Obrzut told Fox News. “It was a pretty good cut. You could see the calf was opened.”
According to the Florida Museum, “Florida has topped global charts in the number of shark bites, and this trend continued in 2020. Florida’s 16 cases [last year] represent 48% of the U.S. total and 28% of unprovoked bites worldwide. However, the state saw a significant drop from its most recent five-year annual average of 30 incidents.”
The museum went on to add if you drive just north of Vero Beach there a county called Volusia that has the most shark bites (8), representing 50% of the state’s total, and still holds a five-year annual average of 9 incidents in the area.
The remaining bites occurred in Brevard (3), with single incidents in Duval, Martin, Miami-Dade, Palm Beach, and St. Johns counties for 2020. Check out the video below to see footage of the shark bite capital of the world.