SOUTH WALTON, Florida: After two teenage girls and a woman were attacked by sharks last weekend along Florida’s Gulf Coast, authorities began patrolling Florida’s Gulf Coast on boats to warn swimmers of impending danger.
Authorities temporarily closed several beaches in the Florida Panhandle on June 7 and reopened them a day later with appropriate warnings.
Demian Chapman, a scientist and Director of the Center for Shark Research at the Mote Marine Laboratory and Aquarium in Sarasota, Florida, emphasized the rarity of such events. “It is even more rare to have two events in one day involving three people. That is astronomically low odds of that happening, he told The Associated Press the next day.
In response to the attacks, the Walton County Sheriff’s Office, fire department, and the state’s wildlife agency have coordinated efforts to patrol the waters with boats and the shores with vehicles. The South Walton Fire Department urged swimmers to exercise caution, respect the Gulf, stay hydrated, and look out for one another.
A contributing factor to the attacks could be the presence of small fish traveling in schools near the shore this time of year.
The first attack was on June 7 in the afternoon when a shark near WaterSound Beach bit a woman, the Walton County Sheriff’s Office Ryan Crawford said. She was seriously injured, and part of her arm had to be amputated.
Less than two hours later, there were multiple reports of attacks by sharks at a beach about four miles east of the first attack. Two teenage girls in waist-deep water, were attacked, the South Walton Fire District said.
