One person treated for suspected shark bite at Jones Beach Field 6
Jones Beach Field 6 on Friday, where officials say a person was treated for a suspected shark bite.
Paramedics treated a man for a suspected shark bite Friday afternoon near Jones Beach's Field 6, a state parks official told Newsday.
The man suffered what appeared to be a shark bite to his foot, said George Gorman, state parks regional director for Long Island.
Lifeguards and paramedics treated the man at about noon Friday, Gorman said.
The person was taken as a precaution to Nassau University Medical Center in East Meadow to be treated for injuries. The gash on the man's foot appeared to have bite marks from shark teeth, park EMTs determined, according to Gorman. His injuries were not believed to be life threatening, officials said.
Officials cleared the water for an hour and surveyed the area with jet skis and boats stationed in the water for the FourLeaf Airshow at Jones Beach, Gorman said.
After an hour of no sightings, swimmers were allowed back in the water but were asked to stay about waist-deep close to shore.
No sharks had been spotted in the water this week before the bite occurred, Gorman said. There were more than 100,000 visitors at the beach on Friday, he added.
Lifeguards and park police said there were no swimming restrictions at 2 p.m. with hundreds of swimmers still in the water.
Swimmers at Jones Beach Field 6 said they saw a man emerge from the water bleeding from his foot.
Adalynne Dery, 11, of Glastonbury, Conn., was swimming with her family and said she saw a man crawling out of the water and brought to shore by lifeguards.
"He said something bit me, and he was bleeding from his foot," Dery said.
Lifeguards bandaged his foot and carried him to an ambulance, Dery and her mother, Cherie said.
Cherie Dery said lifeguards told swimmers to remain knee deep in the water until swimming resumed.
It wasn’t until after the attack that she said she heard of a 9-foot shark spotted Thursday off Point Lookout Beach in Hempstead.
Tiffany and Michael Graziano, of South Setauket, saw lifeguards treating the man near the lifeguard stand.
Tiffany Graziano said the man’s foot was bleeding and a lifeguard used his shirt as a tourniquet.
“It was a calm situation," she said.
Graziano said lifeguards patrolled the water on personal watercraft and kept swimmers safe before allowing them to return to the water.
She said she was not afraid of sharks but was keeping her distance.
“That’s their home and this is mine,” she said, while standing on the beach. “I like sharks, but I don't need to be swimming in their home.”
Newsday's Robert Brodsky contributed to this story.
Check back for updates on this developing story.
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.
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