24°
The 16-year-old was paddling about 20 yards offshore at Kismet Beach on Fire Island when he was bitten on his right foot around 5:45 p.m., Wednesday, July 20, said the Suffolk County Police.
The surfer suffered a 4-inch laceration but was able to walk out of the water and was taken by Saltaire Fire Rescue to Good Samaritan Hospital Medical Center in West Islip for treatment of non-life-threatening injuries, police said.
After the bite, Suffolk County Police Aviation responded by helicopter, but the water was too murky to locate the shark, they added.
Marine Bureau officers are looking for the shark via boat. No lifeguards were on duty at the time, police said.
New York State Park Police, Fire Island National Seashore, and Ocean Beach Police were also notified of the attack.
The bite took place on the same day that a young great white shark washed up dead on a beach in Quogue, village police said.
The latest attack comes a week after two people were bitten by a shark on Wednesday, July 13 on Fire Island where a surfer was bitten off Smith Point Park and an out-of-state man was bitten in the buttocks and wrist in the waters off Seaview.
The week before, a lifeguard was bitten at Ocean Beach on Thursday, July 7, and days before that, another lifeguard was bitten at Smith Point on Sunday, July 3.
Click here to follow Daily Voice Rivertowns and receive free news updates.
