Shark Attack in Florida: Animal Agitated By Lifeguards, Experts Say

By Vianne Ilagan, Christian Post Contributor Thursday, July 13, 2017

A shark attack recently took place at a Florida nude beach, and experts suggest it might have been triggered by the lifeguards stationed in the area at the time. The incident was the first recorded shark attack in the history of the Florida beach.

Based on video footage, the attack happened after the lifeguards of a nearby beach spotted the shark and tried to drive it away. Unfortunately, it then swam to another beach area and attacked one of the beachgoers.

The victim was 44-year-old Elvin Lanza, who was swimming at Haulover Beach in Miami-Dade County at the time of the attack. Although the shark bit him on both legs, he remained conscious after the incident and was taken to a nearby hospital for immediate surgery.

Miami-Dade Fire Rescue spokeswoman Erika Benitez recounted that Lanza was about to exit the water when the shark bit his lower extremities.

The shark attacked one leg first, but when Lanza tried to kick it away, it bit the other one as well. After the attack, he still managed to get out of the water and called for assistance from the MDFR Ocean Rescue lifeguards.

The shark who attacked Lanza was reportedly a bull shark, about four to five feet in length. In the afternoon of July 9, it was spotted by the lifeguards at Sunny Isles Beach, who used personal watercraft to order swimmers to get out of the water.

According to experts, the lifeguards on the beach who herded the shark out of the area might have only agitated the creature, making the attack more likely.

George Burgess of the International Shark Attack File at the Florida Museum of Natural History said that the jetski used by the lifeguards to chase the shark away had only aggravated the animal.

To defend the lifeguards, however, Sunny Isles Police Capt. Mike Grandinetti said the intent of the lifeguards was to order the beachgoers to get out of the water and not to drive the shark away.

As of latest reports, Lanza is now recovering well from the surgery.