Cops: Teen bitten by shark off Fire Island, 2nd possible off Robert Moses
People gather on the beach to aid a 15-year-old boy who was bitten by a shark bite in Kismet, Fire Island, Monday. Credit: Fred O'Meally
One 15-year-old swimmer was bitten by a shark Monday off Fire Island and a second suffered a possible attack off Robert Moses State park, officials said.
The Suffolk County Police Marine Bureau responded to a report of a shark attack at 5:20 p.m. off Fire Island involving one of the teens, a male, police said. He was able to swim to shore, where someone on the beach provided medical care, police said. The teen suffered shark bites to his left heel and toes, police said.
In a statement about the Fire Island attack, the Town of Islip reminded "bathers to swim only when lifeguards are on duty. … This incident happened after lifeguards were off duty. As a precaution, we’ll be posting shark warning signs on all lifeguard stands."
Marine Bureau Officers and the Saltaire Ambulance treated the teen, whose heel and toes were intact. Saltaire First Assistant Chief Jarrod Bernstein said they responded to a 911 call to a possible animal bite. They said 15 members of the department responded and transported the teen in stable condition.
A patrol boat in the waters off the coast of Kismet on Fire Island Monday, where a 15-year-old boy was bitten by a shark, Suffolk police said. Credit: Fred O'Meally
The teen was taken by ambulance to Good Samaritan Hospital Medical Center in West Islip for treatment of non-life-threatening injuries.
Earlier Monday, a 15-year-old girl was bitten, possibly by a shark, off Field 3 at Robert Moses State Park, Long Island State Parks Regional Director George Gorman said.
The girl returned to shore about 1:45 p.m. where she was treated by park EMTS for small puncture wounds on her left leg. The girl's family declined to have her transported by ambulance and took her to their doctor to be evaluated, Gorman said.
Parks officials could not confirm it was a shark bite and lifeguards used enhanced drone patrols to scan the surface of the water, but no sharks could be seen.
Swimming was closed for about 45 minutes before it was deemed safe to reopen, Gorman said. Lifeguards continued to watch for sharks until beaches closed at 7 p.m.
State park officials plan to continue enhanced beach patrols Tuesday monitoring the water.
This marks the first possible shark attacks reported this year off Long Island after there were eight in 2022.
Previously, there were only about a dozen shark attacks reported off New York and New Jersey beaches for the past 150 years.
Officials have said larger schools of bunker are coming closer to shore, attracting the ocean's predators. Long Islanders and beachgoers are also looking closer for sharks that tend to come near shore in July and August.
Gov. Kathy Hochul and the State Legislature approved $145,000 in additional funding for shark monitoring efforts, including for drones and wave runners at Long Island state parks.
John Asbury is a breaking news and general assignment reporter. He has been with Newsday since 2014 and previously worked at The Press-Enterprise in Riverside, California.
