Shark Attacks and Shark Attack Related Incidents News Articles on Shark Bites

Broward teen bitten by shark


By HANNAH SAMPSON
hsampson@miamiherald.com

A 14-year-old Oakland Park boy is recovering at Broward General Medical Center after a nurse shark latched onto his stomach while he snorkeled at the beach in Lauderdale-By-The-Sea.

A Broward Sheriff's Fire Rescue paramedic had to punch the shark in the nose to force it to let go of the boy. The two- to three foot-long shark bit him at 4 p.m. in the ocean near the Anglins Fishing Pier.

The shark swam away, and rescuers rushed the boy to the hospital.

Fire Rescue spokesman Mike Jachles said the boy's injuries are not life-threatening. The boy and some friends had been snorkeling north of the fishing pier, at 2 Commercial Blvd., when he was bitten.

http://www.miamiherald.com/466/story/236592.html

LAUDERDALE- BY-THE-SEA
Teen recovering from shark bite
A teenager escaped with minor injuries Thursday after a small shark bit his stomach -- and stayed there.
Posted on Fri, Sep. 14, 2007

BY HANNAH SAMPSON
hsampson@MiamiHerald.com

Brendan Chapman was doing all right Thursday night, no small wonder considering just a few hours earlier he was struggling to free himself from the jaws of a shark.

The Oakland Park teenager said he was snorkeling in 10 to 15 feet of water by Anglin's Fishing Pier in Lauderdale-by-the-Sea when the three- or four-foot nurse shark attached itself to the side of his gut.

''Put it this way: I was more than freaked out,'' said Brendan, 14.

He struggled toward shore. The shark came along.

Broward Sheriff's Fire Rescue got the call about 4 p.m. Lt. Rob Melendez said it came in as a shark bite.

''Then it changed to: The shark is still attached,'' Melendez said. Paramedics arrived within minutes to find a situation Melendez had never encountered in his 26-year career.

The beach has no lifeguards, and Brendan said dozens of people gathered around. Some high school kids who recognized him tried to get the shark off by poking its eyes, jabbing its gills and prying its jaw.

Melendez tried something he'd seen in the movies:

''I just gave him a big nudge in the nose, like a pound in the nose,'' he said. ``He kind of shook his body. And he let go.''

Brendan was finally free.

According to the Florida Museum of Natural History, nurse sharks are not usually aggressive, though there have been reports of unprovoked attacks on swimmers and divers.

''If disturbed, it may bite with a powerful vice-like grip capable of inflicting serious injury. In some instances, jaws release was accomplished only after using surgical instruments,'' according to the museum's Web page on nurse sharks.

Brendan was taken to Broward General Medical Center, where his wounds didn't even require stitches.

Later Thursday, the Rickards Middle School seventh-grader said: ``It still stings a little bit, but it's pretty good.''

Everyone, he said, wanted to see the bite.

Brenda Chapman, Brendan's grandmother, said the teenager is an avid fisherman, iguana-catcher and all-around outdoorsman.

''He's a 14-year-old boy that has no fear of anything,'' said Chapman, with whom Brendan lives. ``If you ever watch Crocodile Hunter, [he's] the small version of it.''

Brendan said he thinks the shark was flung back into the water.

'I wanted to get that thing mounted and put it on my wall and put a sign there: `See what happens when you bite people,' '' he said.

The International Shark Attack File reveals 62 confirmed cases of unprovoked shark attacks on humans worldwide in 2006, resulting in four deaths. With 23 unprovoked attacks, Florida had the most in the United States.

As for Brendan, he said: ''Hopefully, I don't get bit by another shark.'' He plans to stay out of the water -- at least until the bites heal.

http://www.miamiherald.com/news/broward ... 36934.html

Oakland Park teen emerges from ocean with shark locked onto abdomen
Sun-Sentinel.com
5:53 AM EDT, September 14, 2007

An Oakland Park teen who went swimming at the beach Thursday emerged with a nurse shark latched onto his abdomen.

A well-aimed punch by a Broward Fire-Rescue lieutenant forced the 3- to 4-foot-long shark to release its grip before it could do any serious damage to the teen.

Brandon Chapman, 14, was treated and released at Broward Medical Center on Thursday evening for minor injuries from the shark.



The Broward Sheriff's Office said Chapman was in about three feet of water at Anglin's Fishing Pier in Lauderdale-by-the-Sea when the shark went after him just before 5 p.m. Thursday.

Someone at the fishing pier called the police about a shark attack, and officers arrived with fire-rescue personnel, who considered using an ax and a "Jaws of Life" extrication tool to separate the teen from the shark.

Fire Rescue Lt. Rob Melendez delivered the punch to the shark's nose that forced it to release its grip.

"The shark was tossed back into the ocean and quickly swam away," the Sheriff's Office said.

http://www.sun-sentinel.com/sfl-914shar ... full.story