10-year-old Maryland boy attacked by shark in Bahamas: police
Fox News
A 10-year-old boy from Maryland was bitten by a shark in the Bahamas on Monday, according to local police.
The boy was bitten on the right leg by the shark during an “expedition in a shark tank” at a local resort on Paradise Island, according to a release by the Royal Bahamas Police Force.
The victim was transported to an area hospital and is in stable condition, police said.
Paradise Island is situated just off the northern edge of New Providence, Bahamas, and its capital city, Nassau.
CALIFORNIA WOMAN DESCRIBES SHARK ATTACK: ‘I SAW IT CLAMP ON MY LEG’
Police said the incident is under investigation and no other details were provided, including what type of predator attacked the boy.
Police did not identify the resort, but Atlantis Paradise Island offers shark experiences on site, according to the Associated Press. The resort did not immediately respond to the outlet’s request for comment.
The attack comes just weeks after a 44-year-old Massachusetts woman was killed by a shark while paddleboarding in the Bahamas.
In late December, a 39-year-old man was killed after an encounter with a shark while surfing off Maui’s northern shore.
GREAT WHITE SHARK DECAPITATES MEXICAN DIVER MARKING FIRST FATAL SHARK ATTACK OF 2023: REPORT
Gavin Naylor, program director of the International Shark Attack File in Florida, told The Associated Press last month that there had been a couple of shark-related fatalities reported in the Bahamas in the past five years.
He noted that the Bahamas has a “huge” tourist population, adding that there are a lot of people in the water and a lot of visitors who want to view sharks from a fishing boat or dive with them.
“So the sharks get acclimated, and the animals are a little bit less cautious than they otherwise might be,” he said.
Between 30 to 40 shark species live around the Bahamas, although the Caribbean reef shark, the bull shark, the tiger shark and the black tip shark have the highest bite frequency, Naylor said.
“Usually, it’s an accidental bite. They think it’s something else,” he said. “Once in a while, they’ll actually single out people, and it’s very intentional.”
There were 83 shark attack bites reported worldwide in 2023, 15 of which were fatal, according to the website TrackingSharks.com. The site states there were 41 shark bites in the U.S. last year, two of which were fatal.
Fox News Digital contacted Bahamas Police Force for further information, but did not receive a response.
Fox News’ Pilar Arias and Bradford Betz as well as The Associated Press contributed to this report.
https://www.foxnews.com/world/10-year-old-maryland-boy-attacked-shark-bahamas-police