SOUTH PADRE ISLAND, Texas – At least four shark attacks disrupted Fourth of July celebrations at South Padre Island, the Texas beach that borders Mexico, with one man being taken to the hospital for a severe bite.
Police were called for the attack on the man around 11 a.m., according to Nikki Soto, the South Padre Island city secretary. He was treated at the beach by firefighters and police before being taken to the hospital.
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No information was available Thursday night about the man’s condition or the extent of his injuries.
The man was immediately treated at the beach by the fire and police department and was then taken to a hospital.
“Currently, the South Padre Island Beach Patrol, fire and police departments are patrolling the shoreline and utilizing drones,” Soto said.
The second attack appears to be a swimmer who was dragged out of the water by other beachgoers, bleeding with a visible wound on her left leg.
Texas Parks and Wildlife Game Warden Captain Chris Dowdy confirmed the four attacks to KRGV, the NBC affiliate in Rio Grand Valley.
Dowdy said the third case was a man who kicked the shark when he got bitten. That man needed stitches.
The fourth victim was a girl who had minor injuries.
On Facebook, her mother explained, “The girls were in like knee deep water on their boogie board when the shark came behind Victoria with force and pushed her off and was able to scratch her leg with at least 5 of his teeth. They immediately ran out yelling Shark, super scared. It was a very scary moment, girls were in shock.”
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Multiple social media posts from people at South Padre said the U.S. Coast Guard advised beachgoers to stay out of the water.
The last shark attack reported in the South Padre Island area was five years ago, according to Capt. Dowdy.
Based on witness reports and images on social media, Dowdy said, authorities believe a single shark about 6 feet (about 1.8 meters) long was responsible.
The last reported shark attack in the area was five years ago, according to Dowdy.