Bull shark takes chunk out of woman’s leg, as attacks panic beachgoers amid Independence Day celebrations – similar to 1970s flick.
Several people in the US were injured by sharks over the Fourth of July holiday, drawing an eerie parallel to the 70s Jaws film, which depicted shark attacks during this time period.
In one horrific incident that happened in South Padre Island, Texas, a woman required emergency medical attention after sustaining a severe shark bite that tore off a majority of her left calf muscle.
Shark attack this morning in South Padre Island. Prayers for this lady! 😳🙏🏼 pic.twitter.com/InwFEaEAau
— don’tcallheramy (@deanda_min3) July 4, 2024
Distressing footage of the event showed beachgoers screaming and crying as a group frantically pulled the woman from the water, while a shark continued to circle near the shore.
Woman gets bitten by shark in South Padre Island Texas on 4th of July 😳pic.twitter.com/0PjBiJRe1E
— Shannonnn sharpes Burner (PARODY Account) (@shannonsharpeee) July 4, 2024
One witness described chaos similar to that seen in “Jaws,” saying, “The lifeguards were trying to get people out of the water and everyone’s yelling to come out…It was a pretty scary sight with all the blood and everything.”
Four people overall encountered the shark at South Padre Island this week, resulting in two bites, one of which was severe.
ABC News reports:
A second person was bitten by the shark, while one was grazed and another injured fending off the shark, Dowdy told KRGV.
The second bite victim was also taken to Valley Regional Medical Center in Brownsville. One of the two bite victims was flown out for “further treatment,” Police said Thursday night.
City and county officials later reportedly located the bull shark and were able to release it further into the ocean.
Texas Game Warden Capt. Chris Dowdy said he believed the rare and unusual attacks happened “due to weather changes in anticipation of Hurricane Beryl,” reports ValleyCentral.
An Ohio man was also bitten on the foot during a July 4th celebration in Florida’s New Smyrna Beach on Thursday.
The attacks are reminiscent of Steven Spielberg’s 1975 classic, Jaws, where a great white shark terrorizes a fictional New York resort over the July 4th holiday, prompting the mayor to cover up the incidents to avoid scaring away tourists.
