A Texas 4th of July celebration turned into a scene from a horror scene. An aggressive and hungry shark attacked four swimmers on a Texas island in a chaotic and grisly scene.
The creature bit into one woman's calf taking a large chunk. Graphic footage below shows the woman collapsing in the surf of South Padre Island. The animal swam nearby as people fled the water following the attack. Blood mixed in with the water staining the surf red. Fortunately for the woman, bystanders came to her aid and saved her life.
As the woman cried in pain, several people wrapped a makeshift tourniquet below her knee. They had to stop the bleeding as the woman lost a lot of blood. The creature attacked four people, but it ended up biting two people. At 11 a.m., the creature bit a man severely in the leg as well. Fortunately, his father-in-law came to his aid.
"I started swimming towards him, and he jumped out of the water saying, 'Shark, shark, shark,' and that's when adrenaline kicked in. I started swimming after him," Rayner Cardenas told KRGV. Meanwhile, two others had minor injuries following a run-in with the animal, Texas Parks and Wildlife officials said. One was injured after being grazed. Another needed stitches after fighting off the creature.
Shark attack today on South Padre Island. A friend shared this with me this morning Warning Graphic#4thofJuly #Sharkbite pic.twitter.com/vKjWQezoJZ
— BubbaGreene (@money_bubby) July 4, 2024
Shark Attacks Four
According to officials, they believe it's the same shark. They called the attacks "abnormal and unprecedented." So far, the shark has since left for deeper waters. They don't plan to capture or kill the shark, but they are monitoring the situation. One person who's friend was on the beach wrote on X, "I heard from someone close to the situation that they are hesitant to put a bounty on the shark because the city is preparing for a storm. They don't want to increase the risk to locals who might participate in the hunt during the storm, leading to unexpected rescues."
The person also claimed, "I was just told there was a fifth attack right before dark. They still think it is the same shark." However, that hasn't been confirmed.
"Shark encounters of this nature are not a common occurrence in Texas," officials said in a statement. "When bites from sharks do occur, they are usually a case of mistaken identity by sharks looking for food." Officials told beachgoers that if they see "large schools of bait near the shore, this typically an indicator a predator is nearby, or if you see a shark in the water, calmly exit the water and wait for the predatory wildlife to pass."
