A dip in the ocean can be a harrowing experience even for members of the Coast Guard.
Around 40 crew members of the national security cutter Kimball were enjoying a relaxing swim after finishing the day’s operations when an eight-foot shark made an appearance, according to Military.com.
In addition to an inflatable unicorn, the crew had safety protocols in place for their swim, including a small boat with extra crew members and an armed shark watch.
“As if right out of a Hollywood movie, a 6-8 foot shark (no exaggeration) surfaced at the Rescue Door and was swimming toward 30-40 people in the water about 30 feet away,”a spokesperson for the cutter Kimball wrote on the ship’s Facebook page.
After spotting the predator, bridge personnel yelled "Shark!" over the radio and Maritime Enforcement Specialist 1st Class Samuel Cintron sprung into action and began firing rounds. Citron “fired a well-aimed burst right at/on top of the shark to protect shipmates just feet away.”
The shark turned away, but then circled back and Citron fired off another round of shots, with bullets getting close to the swimmers.
"ME1 fired bursts as needed to keep the shark from his shipmates with amazing accuracy. The shark would wave off with each burst but kept coming back toward our shipmates," read the post.
Despite the chaotic scene, everyone remained pretty calm.
“It wasn't the panic of the 4th of July scene from JAWS, but once everyone realized what was happening, they moved with a purpose! Everyone stayed focused and worked the problem,” the post continued.
Other than one crew member scraping their knee, no one was harmed in the incident. According to the Coast Guard, the shark was also not injured by the shots.
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“Our goal was to keep it away from shipmates, not harm it if possible. It was most likely curious and not looking for a meal,” the spokesperson wrote in the Facebook message. “We picked our location to try and avoid such an encounter but it is their ocean after all. It later joined a few smaller buddies that showed up and they swam off together.”
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