(KMOX) - It's being called the shark attack capital of the U.S., as New Smyrna Beach in Volusia County, Florida had three people bitten by sharks over a recent two-day period.
On Saturday, two surfers were bitten within an hour of each other. First, 20-year-old surfer Emily Comfort was bitten on her left hand and wrist, then 21-year-old surfer Riley Petrovich had to be treated for a shark bite to his right foot, according to Volusia County Beach Safety. Comfort was taken to Halifax Medical Center in Daytona Beach with injuries that were not life-threatening; Petrovich refused transport to the hospital.
Coming up @WESH 4pm, we talk w one of three people attacked by shark #NewSmyrnaBeach this past weekend. 5 in last two weeks! 9 bites so far this year. pic.twitter.com/7cpb6daURQ
— claire metz (@clairemetzwesh)
August 5, 2019 Less than 24 hours after those two bites, 51-year-old Peter Bourbeau was standing in knee-deep water when his right foot was bitten by what he described as a 4-foot-shark, Volusia County Beach Safety said. He told officials that he kicked the shark with his left foot, and it swam away.
A lot of bait fish gather in the area beyond the pier at New Smyrna Beach, and sharks follow them, according to Gavin Naylor, director of the Florida Program for Shark Research at the Florida Museum of Natural History.
A third person is bitten by a shark within 24 hours at New Smyrna Beach, Florida. pic.twitter.com/oLTBVhrb7P
— Fox & Friends First (@FoxFriendsFirst)
August 5, 2019 The sharks in these attacks have not been identified, but Naylor said blacktips, spinners and juvenile sandbar sharks are frequently found in the area, and on occasion, hammerhead and tiger sharks can be seen.
Volusia County has recorded 303 shark attacks — the most in the United States — since 1882, according to the International Shark Attack File. In a distant second place in the state is Brevard County with just 147.
Florida has been the site of 828 unprovoked shark attacks since 1837. The second most at 162 attacks is Hawaii.
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