St. Augustine, FL - A 10-year-old boy was bitten on the ankle this morning by a small shark, the sheriff's office has confirmed.
The incident happened this morning in shallow water south of Crescent Beach.
"It could have been a shark. It was small if it was," Jeremy Robshaw with St. Johns County Fire Rescue said at the time. But this afternoon, the St. Johns County Sheriff's Office confirmed a shark tooth was found in the boy's wound.
Sgt. Chuck Mulligan with the St. Johns County Sheriff's Office said they boy's father flagged down an officer shortly after 9 a.m. to tell him about the bite, and that the boy said he saw a shark before he was bitten.
The victim's name was not released. His injuries are said to be minor. The boy described the shark as about 3-feet long with a black head.
This is the fourth known attack on the First Coast this season. In early August, a woman was attacked and bitten in the arm by a supposed shark at Mickler's Landing.
A University of North Florida student was attacked apparently by a shark at the end of July and needed about 400 stitches to close the wound.
Jacksonville University marine biology professor Dr. Quinton White said there are more shark bites being reported because there are more people in the water. "The sharks are there all the time; people don't always realize that," said White.
"It's been hot, people are going to the beach before school goes back next week. So someone being bitten by a shark does not surprise me at all," said White.
As for preventing a shark bite, White recommends swimming with a group of people and not wearing flashy jewelry. "The best thing is to be aware; things like this are going to happen once in a while."
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