Same shark attacks 4 swimmers frolicking on Texas’ South Padre Island on Fourth of July — taking chunk out of woman’s calf
It was like a scene out of “Jaws.”
A single man-hungry shark attacked four swimmers enjoying the Fourth of July on a Texas island, leaving at least one victim with a bite-shaped chunk missing from her calf.
Chilling footage of the aftermath shows the massive predator stalking the shore as a profusely bleeding woman lies helpless in the Gulf of Mexico waves on South Padre Island.
Wails of pain can be heard as bystanders rush to wrap a makeshift tourniquet below her knee — just inches from where the shark sunk its teeth into her flesh.
The woman was one of two who were bitten by what officials believe was the same shark — a man was severely bitten in his leg around 11 a.m., officials said.
The man’s father-in-law said he saw the victim get suddenly dragged under the water.
“I started swimming towards him, and he jumped out of the water saying, ‘Shark, shark, shark,’ and that’s when adrenaline kicked in. I started swimming after him,” Rayner Cardenas told KRGV.
Two other swimmers “encountered” the shark but were not seriously hurt, Texas Parks and Wildlife officials said. One was grazed and received minor injuries, while a man fought off the shark and received stitches.
Investigators suspect the same shark is to blame for the “abnormal and unprecedented” attacks.
The man-eater has since escaped to deeper waters, and officials have no plans to corner the apex predator, though they are monitoring the shores with drones.
The rash of attacks marks the first in the area five years ago.
“Shark encounters of this nature are not a common occurrence in Texas,” officials said in a statement. “When bites from sharks do occur, they are usually a case of mistaken identity by sharks looking for food.”
Authorities have advised beachgoers that if they see “large schools of bait near the shore, this typically an indicator a predator is nearby, or if you see a shark in the water, calmly exit the water and wait for the predatory wildlife to pass.”
