The Fourth of July was marred by shark attacks in Texas and Florida that injured three people, including one severely, as authorities warned swimmers to take "precautions" when entering the water, according to reports.
Two people were bitten by a shark off South Padre Island off the coast of Texas on Thursday morning and two others "encountered" the predator but were not seriously injured, the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department said in a statement.
The two injured in the attack, caught on video posted to social media, were transported to a hospital in Brownsville, and one of them was "flown out for further treatment," the statement said.
One man was "severely bitten," the Associated Press reported.
In Florida, a 21-year-old Ohio man visiting the area, was bitten by a shark on his right foot while playing football in "knee-deep water" near Flagler Beach on Thursday afternoon, WKMG reported.
The man was taken to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.
Texas Game Warden Chris Dowdy told the AP that after looking at images on social media and talking to witnesses, they believe the shark was about 6 feet long.
Video posted online by Katie McMillan on X shows a shark coursing through breaking waves just steps away from the shoreline, its fins breaking the surface.
@cnnbrk @FoxNews @ksatnews here’s footage of a shark about 20 feet from shore on South Padre Island this morning… it bit a beachgoer on the thigh, who was taken away on a stretcher by beach EMS. #southpadreislandshark #sharkattack #fourthofjulysharkattack #southpadreisland pic.twitter.com/Wt0HGeBAWh
— Katie McMillan 💛🌵 (@kb_mcmillan) July 4, 2024
Images posted on Facebook by the U.S. Border Patrol Laredo Sector show first-responders treating a bloody injury to a person's calf.
Two off-duty agents at the beach "provided lifesaving care," it said.
Nereyda Bazaldua told CNN her 18-year-old daughter was bitten by the shark while she was surfing with her sister on boogie boards in shallow water near shore.
She said Victoria emerged from the water with "blood coming down her leg."
"The shark pushed into her, five to six of his teeth scratched her leg," Bazaldua said, explaining that her daughter's wounds were minor. "The wounds aren't deep."
"We never saw the shark till he was right there with them," the mom said. "It wasn't choppy water and the seas were calm. He showed up out of nowhere."
Cameron County officials in a statement urged beachgoers to "take precautions when going to the beach and entering the water as there have been two instances of shark bites, and two additional encounters that occurred during the 4th of July holiday."
Texas Parks and Wildlife Department noted that shark encounters are "not a common occurrence in Texas" and are usually the result of a case of "mistaken identity" by sharks looking for food.
"If you 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," the department said.
Authorities have been shutting down beaches across the U.S. this summer because of a string of shark attacks and shark spottings from California to Massachusetts.
The Florida Museum also released a map of shark attacks going back to 1900.
