Smith Point Beach.Photo: Getty Images
In apress conference, Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone said Gallo had been taken to the hospital to receive stitches after being bitten in the chest and hand, but was in “very good spirits.”
“If you’re going to have an encounter with a shark this is probably the best scenario you could have,” Bellone said. “We have never had an incident like this occur. Hopefully, we never will again.”
Bellone said the shark — which bit Gallo in the waters of Smith Point Beach — had been between four and five feet, adding that lifeguards spotted a possible second shark after the attack.
Meanwhile, the Nassau County Police Department said a 57-year-old man swimming at Long Island’s Jones Beach suffered a possible shark bite last Thursday.
In anews alert sent Friday, the department said the incident occurred on June 30 at 1 p.m.
From the news alert: “According to police, a 57-year-old male was swimming in the ocean at Jones Beach when he sustained a laceration to his right foot. Medics from the Nassau County Police Department Emergency Ambulance Bureau responded and identified the nature of the injury as a possible shark bite.”
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Shark sightings have been on the rise in recent months as temperatures rise. In New York, lifeguards are increasing patrols andturning to drones, tracking devicesand shark patrols on Jet Skis and paddleboards as a way to monitor marine activity.
The number of U.S. shark bites is also up — some42 percent from 2020, which saw 33 incidents occur.
In 2021 the United States led all countries with 47 confirmed cases of unprovoked shark bites, or 64 percent of the global total, according to theUniversity of Florida.
source: people.com
