15-year-old becomes latest Florida shark-bite victim

By Associated Press, 8/8/2002 05:33

NEW SMYRNA BEACH, Fla. (AP) A teenage surfer was attacked by a shark in waist-deep water, becoming Volusia County's sixth shark-bite victim this year.

Brennen Smith, 15, of Riviera Beach, said he was coming in after riding his last wave Wednesday when he felt a ''pinch'' just above his left ankle.

The teenager alerted a lifeguard and was taken to Bert Fish Medical Center, where doctors sutured the 4-inch wound. He was released Wednesday afternoon.

There were 76 unprovoked shark attacks in the United States last year, 37 of them in Florida, according to the International Shark Attack File in Gainesville. Of the 37 attacks in Florida, 22 were in Volusia County.

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