2 Hospitalized After Shark Attacks Disrupt Fourth of July in Texas

Sharks near the shore on South Padre Island, Texas, on July 4, 2024. Shark attacks disrupted Fourth of July celebrations as two people were taken to the hospital with bites, at least one of them severe, authorities said. (Katie McMillan via AP)

Multiple shark attacks disrupted Fourth of July celebrations on Thursday in South Texas, where two people were taken to the hospital after being bitten by a shark.

In Texas, police received 911 calls at about 11 a.m. reporting a man had been severely bitten by a shark at South Padre Island. The man was treated at the scene before being transported to a hospital, according to officials.

Within a couple of hours, three more attacks were reported.

“Details at this time indicate that two people were bitten and two people encountered the shark but were not seriously injured,” the Texas Parks & Wildlife Department said in a statement on Thursday. “The two victims who were bitten were transported to Valley Regional Medical Center in Brownsville, where one is being treated, and the other has been flown out for further treatment.”

Witnesses posted videos and images of a shark swimming just off the shoreline. Some videos showed a woman being treated on the beach for what appeared to be a bite to her calf.

“Our hearts and prayers are with the injured and their families, and we hope for a speedy recovery,” said Patrick McNulty, mayor of South Padre Island, in an emailed statement to The Epoch Times. 

Game Warden Capt. Chris Dowdy said that authorities believe a single shark about 6 feet long was responsible for all incidents. 

Local game wardens, police officers, firefighters, and other local officials patrolled the beach by boat and land, while the Texas Department of Public Safety patrolled the area by helicopter.

“Shark encounters of this nature are not a common occurrence in Texas,” according to officials. “When bites from sharks do occur, they are usually a case of mistaken identity by sharks looking for food.”

Mr. Dowdy said it had been five years since a shark attack was reported in the area.

No further details have been released regarding the identities or conditions of those injured.

Florida Shark Attacks

Last month, three shark attacks were reported in the Sunshine State.

On June 28, a man was bitten on the forearm after he caught a shark while fishing in the Amelia River near Fernandina Beach, about 35 miles north of Jacksonville.

The man was airlifted to a hospital, where he was expected to recover from his injuries. Earlier the same month, two more shark attacks were reported in the Florida panhandle, leaving three people injured in Walton County.

Yannis Papastamatiou, an associate professor of biological science at Florida International University, said shark bites are “pretty rare” in Florida and even rarer in Texas. 

“But obviously, there are large sharks there, and occasionally, these things unfortunately happen,” he told The Epoch Times on Friday. 

Mr. Papastamatiou said it is important to remember that the ocean is their habitat, and it is not unusual for them to swim close to the shore. He added that the United States has a large shark population and a variety of  “potentially dangerous species like whites, tigers, and bull sharks.”

“So it’s more just often a numbers game of, you know, how many people in the water, how many sharks are in the water, and that will determine the other chance that a human and a shark will kind of overlap,” he continued.

“If they do overlap, the vast majority of times, nothing happens. And then you have these sort of very rare instances where a shark, for whatever reason, decides to bite somebody, and it’s often very difficult to know why that might happen.”

To minimize the risk of a shark bite, Mr. Papastamatiou recommends swimming in groups, avoiding swimming too far out from the shore, staying alert to their surroundings, and avoiding swimming at dawn or dusk.

“If you do see a shark, the main thing is to try and stay calm and to keep your eyes on it,” he explained. “Don’t turn your back on it and try to make clear to that animal that you know [it] is there. Then, slowly work your way out of the water.

“Don’t start panicking and swimming full speed back to the beach. I would keep an eye on the animal. Slowly retreat, and then get yourself out of the water.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.