Echoes of Jaws resounded over the Fourth of July holiday after four swimmers near a Long Island beach were bitten by a suspected shark over the course of two days.
The first two bites occurred on Monday, with the victims being two teenagers, and the latter two on Tuesday, with the victims being men in their 40s, according to NBC New York. In all cases, only minor injuries were reported, though at least three of the victims were taken to a hospital. The incident resulted in officials closing Long Island beaches for about an hour and a half on Tuesday, Long Island Parks Regional Director George Gorman told the New York Post.
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The sources of the bites were apparently discovered: a school of 50 sand sharks, which were swimming a few hundred feet from one of the beaches.
“There were about 50 sand sharks that we saw,” Gorman told the outlet. “Obviously, we did not open for swimming at 8 o’clock when lifeguards came on duty.”
The beaches were opened back up at about 9:30 a.m. after surveillance drones tracked the school leaving the area.
Gorman noted that sand sharks are common around Long Island, though large schools are relatively rare. They are known for their docile nature, so they don’t typically attack humans. Most recorded attacks on humans happen when the shark mistakes someone’s hand or foot for fish.
The attack on a 15-year-old boy on Monday, which occurred while he was surfing, was the first recorded shark attack of this year in Long Island. Police said that he was bit on his left foot, though his toes and heel are intact.
Shortly after, at about 2 p.m., a 15-year-old girl was bit on her left leg, which left her with three small wounds. The attack against her prompted lifeguards to evacuate Robert Moses Beach for roughly 30 minutes.
“We noticed the lifeguards started getting everybody out of the water and they closed the beach for about 30 minutes, and then we started hearing from other people that they think somebody got bit by a baby shark,” beachgoer George Segura told NBC New York.
The remaining two attacks were against a 47-year-old man, who was bit on his left knee, and a 49-year-old man, who was bit on his right hand.
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Gorman assured beachgoers that the threat is now subsided and that people can swim with confidence.
The incident has parallels with the 1975 film Jaws, in which a far deadlier shark attacks tourists swimming at an island off the coast of Long Island over the Fourth of July holiday.
