A man in New Zealand was killed today by a great white shark off the coast of Muriwai beach in New Zealand.
Reuters reports that police tried to save the man by firing guns at the shark during the attack. Despite their efforts, the man died in the shark attack.
An eye witness said:
“We saw the shark fin, and the next minute, boom, the attack came. There was blood everywhere on the water … They fired six or seven shots to the shark, three from the police helicopter and a few shots from the lifeguard. I don’t know if they killed the shark or not.”
Police Inspector Shawn Rutene said that the attack occurred about 650 feet offshore. Police went out in an inflatable raft to shoot the shark. Ruetne said that the shark “disappeared” underwater and wasn’t sure if they had killed it.
Multiple sources are reporting that the attack involved multiple sharks. The head of the volunteer lifeguard service said that “one or two” sharks were spotted during the attack and The Sun reports that four sharks were spotted during the attack.
Here’s a video about the shark attack in New Zealand.
New Zealand shark attacks are relatively rare. There have only been fourteen fatal shark attacks in the area since 1837 when records began. The last fatal shark attack occurred near the Coromandel Peninsula in 2009.