Cape Cod Shark Attack: 911 Call in Surfer’s Death Released

A 911 call in the shark attack death of Massachusetts man Arthur Medici was released this week.

“Hello, I’m at Newcomb Hollow Beach in Wellfleet, Massachusetts,” a man who witnessed the attack told the dispatcher. “I’ve just seen a surfer get bit by a shark.”

“I’m sorry, you said somebody got bit by a shark?” asked the dispatcher.

“Yeah, about 300 yards down the beach,” the man said. “I saw the whole thing happen.”

“Sir, hold on please,” the dispatcher continued. “Hello, Are you right next to the person right now?”

“No, I’m not, I’m off the beach,” the man told the dispatcher in the 911 call (which can be heard in the video above). “I watched the whole thing happen....It was a helluva hit, man. I saw the whole thing happen.”

Later, the dispatcher asked about Medici’s state. “OK, do you know by chance if the person is conscious and breathing?” the dispatcher asked the man. “I have no idea…I’m literally an eighth of a mile away,” he responded.

Medici, who was originally from Brazil and was living in Cape Cod, became the first fatal shark attack victim in Massachusetts since the 1930s.

Witnesses described a frantic scene.

“All of a sudden somebody yelled ’shark, shark!' and we noticed a big crowd at the end of the beach,” Tony Sherwell said, NECN reported. Added Joe Booth: “I was that guy on the beach screaming, ‘Shark! Shark!’ It was like right out of that movie ‘Jaws.’ This has turned into Amity Island real quick out here.'’

“There was a lot of blood,” Rich Littauer said. “A lot of blood.”

The Atlantic White Shark Conservancy offered their condolences to Medici’s family. “The Atlantic White Shark Conservancy offers our most sincere condolences to the family of the victim, and all who witnessed or are affected by today’s tragic incident,” the group stated.

Medici was reportedly out boogie boarding when the attack took place. The species of shark was not named.

WCVB reported that he was engaged and was slated to get married.

A great white shark’s predation of a seal was recorded off the coast of Cape Cod in August 2018. Atlantic White Shark Conservancy via Storyful

Shark Attacks Are Rare

There were 53 unprovoked shark attacks in the United States last year, but none of them were fatal, said the International Shark Attack File. It says there are about six deaths each year around the world from unprovoked shark attacks.

“The 2017 worldwide total of 88 confirmed, unprovoked cases was slightly higher than the most recent five-year (2012-2016) average of 83 incidents annually. However, it was markedly lower than the highest year on record, 2015, which had 98 unprovoked incidents. Significantly, there were only five unprovoked attacks that were fatal worldwide. This is on track with our annual average of six,” the group says.

Florida, it said, has the most unprovoked shark attacks of any state, representing about 35 percent of the worldwide total.

“Florida has topped the charts for worldwide shark attacks and 2017 was no exception. Florida’s 31 cases represented 58% of the United States total. Elsewhere in the United States, unprovoked shark attacks occurred in South Carolina [10], Hawaii [6], and California [2] with single incidents in Massachusetts, North Carolina, Texas, and Virginia,” it says.