Florida Shark Attack Harms Little Girl, Brevard County Surfer Becomes The Fifth Bite In 2014

Another 2014 Florida shark attack ended with a little 10-year-old girl being bitten. This is the fifth shark attack in Brevard County in recent weeks and now lifeguards are hoping there may be a way to counter the apex predators.

In a related report by The Inquisitr, a Florida woman went shark fishing and caught a giant sized lemon shark that was more double her size. But a shark attack in California was allegedly related to the fishing of great white sharks in the area and now PETA is leading a campaign to have a fishing ban.

Karma Fordham was only knee deep in the surf when she suffered a shark attack at in Cocoa Beach near Lori Wilson Park. Swimmer Jimmy Acevdeo was very close to the spot and said the shark bit into her right leg:

“I look over and I see four puncture wounds and everybody was saying, ‘Shark.’ I was right next to her.”

Witnesses describe the shark attack as causing a “good size cut,” and lifeguards had to work to stop the bleeding from the wound. Ocean Rescue closed the beach after the shark attack and the girl was transported to a Cape Canaveral hospital. Fortunately, the injuries apparently were not major and she’s already been released and returned home.

Brevard County has suffered from five shark attacks in these last few weeks. To put this number in perspective, the International Shark Attack File says the number of shark attacks in Florida in 2013 was 23 and Brevard County recorded just three of them.

“The first victim was eight-year-old Aadyn Crick, who was bitten by a shark just feet from the shore in Indialantic. The second victim was a third grader named Christian Sanhueza. His mother watched as he was dragged underwater and although they escaped the boy suffered a severed Achilles tendon that will require multiple surgeries over time. The third victim was a 45-year-old woman swimming in the water near Tulip Lane in Cocoa Beach on Tuesday. She was bitten on the foot and has already been treated and released from the hospital.”

Because of the increase in shark attack incidents, Jeffrey Scabarozi, chief of Brevard County Ocean Rescue, wants better tracking of shark bites:

“It’s a goal, that’s probably the best way to say it. In the past year and half, we have seen an increase in the number of shark attacks.”

As an example of why they desire bite tracking, a shark attack on a surfer supposedly occurred on August 2, 2014 just south of Cocoa Beach. The bite wound required stitches, but the Florida shark attack apparently wasn’t reported in the media until recently.