14-Year-Old Florida Teen Bitten By Shark During Lifeguard Training

A 14 year old Florida teenager was bit on the leg by a shark during a lifeguard training camp on Monday morning, July 8.

According to officials, the young boy — from Flagler County — was bitten on the calf by a shark at the Ponce Inlet while he was in attendance at a day long Lifeguard Camp for Juniors.

As reported by Volusia County Beach Safety, the incident occurred at around 11:15 in the morning. The unnamed teenager entered the beach area located just north of the New Smyrna Beach Jetty and was bitten by a shark soon after entering the water.

The 14-year-old boy was diving into the water in order to practice water entries for his life guard training. During one of his dives, he landed on top of a blacktip shark. As reported by CBS’ WKMG, witnesses who watched the scene unfold described the shark as being 4 to 5 feet long.

Thankfully, the boy’s injuries were not life threatening. However, he had to get stitches in his leg from the bite.

The injury this week shows a more concerning trend in Volusia County. This is the third shark bite incident in the wider New Smyrna Beach area. On Thursday, a 21-year-old Ohio man was bitten by a shark while he was playing football in almost less than knee-deep water. The next day, a man from Sarasota who was just 26 was bitten while he was inside of an inner tube. The water where he was wading was only 5 feet deep.

Overall, shark attacks are quite rare, which makes the frequency within the Florida locale even more of a standout.

According to the reports and tracking from the International Shark Attack File, in 2023 there were just 69 confirmed shark attacks in the entire world, and this marked a slight increase from the five year average worldwide of just 63 attacks, according to the latest iteration of the. In the United States, nearly half of the attacks occurred in Florida, which has earned Volusia County the title of the “shark bite capital of the world.”