Teen, 17, is bitten by shark that he caught and brought onboard boat during fishing trip in Texas
A teenager in Texas found himself bitten by a shark on Memorial Day after catching the beast and bringing it onboard his boat during a fishing trip.
The 17-year-old teen was in Galveston on Monday afternoon when law enforcement notified the Coast Guard Command Center that he had been bitten by a shark.
On board the boat, the teen and two others, one being the teenager’s father, had hoisted the shark onto the vessel, Coast Guard Lieutenant Chandler Robinson told the Houston Chronicle.
The teen’s dad applied a tourniquet to the bite almost immediately and began making their way to shore before the boat became disabled in the Gulf, Fox 61 reported.
Galveston Island Beach Patrol responded to the scene at around 3.30pm on reports that someone who had been bitten two hours earlier was onboard a boat that began experiencing maintenance issues, according to beach patrol Chief Austin Kirwin.
Beach Patrol and the Coast Guard reached the group and applied a second tourniquet to the teenager’s arm.
Galveston County Sheriff Jimmy Fullen said that, while they could not confirm the size or species of shark, the teen had been bitten on the arm, the outlet reported.
‘All the reports were that it was a shark attack, but it wasn’t; [the shark] was actually brought onto the boat and the shark ended up biting [the teen],’ Fullen said.
The 17-year-old teen was in Galveston on Monday afternoon when law enforcement notified the Coast Guard Command Center that he had been bitten by a shark
Galveston Island Beach Patrol responded to the scene at around 3.30pm on reports that someone who had been bitten two hours earlier was onboard a boat that began experiencing maintenance issues
Galveston County Sheriff Jimmy Fullen said that, while they could not confirm the size or species of shark, the teen had been bitten on the arm
Once on land, the teen, who was said to be alert, was then transported to University of Texas Medical Branch, according to ABC 13.
The teenager’s condition as of Tuesday remains unclear.
Fullen added: ‘It’s a possibility getting in the water you may get bit by a shark. It’s like going into the Everglades, you might get bit by an alligator.’
The teen may have been bitten while attempting to remove a fishing hook from the sharks mouth, social media posts indicate.
Shark attacks in Texas are typically rare, with only 19 reports of a shark attack since 1911, according to the Florida Museum of Natural History.
The Daily Mail reached out to the Coast Guard Command Center, the Galveston County Sheriff’s Department and the Galveston Island Beach Patrol for comment.
