A pair of shark attacks occurred in the afternoon of April 10 in Melbourne Beach and the South Beaches. The attacks followed two shark sightings off of Alan Shepard Park and Cocoa Beach earlier in the day.
At approximately 4 p.m., a 23 year-old Melbourne resident said a three-foot shark bit her on the left hand. The incident occurred off Ocean Park at Ocean Avenue. “A lifeguard had already wrapped her hand and at the time she refused medical treatment,” said Melbourne Beach Police Chief, Dan Duncan.
According to Don Walker, Brevard County spokesman, the beaches were temporarily closed after the incident. They re-opened in an hour.
The second attack took place around 4:30 p.m. in the water off of 9075 A1A in the South Beaches when a 10 year-old girl suffered a six-inch bite on the left calf while swimming. Brevard Fire and Rescue was dispatched to the scene.
“She was airlifted to Arnold Palmer Children’s Hospital in Orlando,” Walker said. “The bite was indicative of a shark bite, but there were no witnesses. The beach was cleared until there was no evidence of sharks in water.”
Walker added that the two sightings by lifeguards in the northern end of the county resulted in beaches being cleared in Cocoa Beach at the Pier and at Shepard Park.