Former Rare Staff
A man who was getting in some R&R at Haulover Beach in Florida, a beach known for being clothing-optional, was victimized by a 4- or 5-foot-long biting bull shark that sent other beachgoers scrambling to the safety of the sand.
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If you can't be at Haulover Beach, where's the next best place to be clothes-free?
— Haulover Beach (@HauloverBeachFL) July 7, 2017
The incident happened Sunday afternoon after lifeguards started alerting people to get out of the water.
Haulover Beach in Miami, Florida pic.twitter.com/8iXLYbeinu
— MajesticPiece (@MajesticPiece) June 24, 2017
The pictures of his injuries floating around look gruesome.
Shark attack: Haulover Beach.
MDFire Ocean Rescue clearing the beach.
Man bit/both legs.
More images of the rescue 5:30@nbc6 @SheliNBC6 pic.twitter.com/yM9FqqNE94— Eric Harryman (@EricFOX40) July 10, 2017
Witness Donovan Cecil told WPLG that he saw the shark head straight for its human prey and “gave him a little tug.”
“It started getting closer to the people at the sandbar and they tried to get out. One guy, it went straight towards him and bit his leg, pulled him, gave him a little tug, and I was freaking out,” he said. “It could have been a lot worse.”
The victim’s leg injuries were not life-threatening.
RELATED: She felt a bump in the water and watched as her arm was torn “clean off” by a monster shark
Miami-Dade Fire Rescue lifeguard Matt Sparling said he hasn’t seen a shark bite incident in his 20 years watching over Miami-Dade County.
“In my 20 years as a lifeguard, this is the first time a person has been bitten here at Haulover Beach, and possibly the first for Miami-Dade County,” he said. “It’s extremely rare. This is the first shark attack in Miami-Dade County that I’ve been aware of working 20 years in ocean rescue.”
Days before the attack, a shark was spotted in the area.
Yup they closed the beach on us in Sunny Isles/Haulover today THATS A DAMN SHARK chillin pic.twitter.com/0mSzDEBLGZ
— Miami Mando 🙌🏝🏈⚾️🏀🥊 (@LakersCanes305) July 2, 2017
It’s not clear if it was the same one.
