A 46-year-old man reportedly survived a shark attack after fighting back Sunday at a beach near San Diego, California.
The victim, who suffered multiple shark bites, reportedly punched the shark in the nose before other swimmers came to his rescue, one witness told NBC News.
“He punched it in the face, he punched it in the nose,” Jenna Veal, who saw the victim’s attack from behind him in the water, told NBC News. “I do know he had a gash on his hand from a shark’s tooth.”
A man who survived being bitten multiple times by a shark punched the predator on the nose, before he was rescued by quick-thinking fellow swimmers, an eyewitness says. https://t.co/ZESPnDtMnh
— NBC News (@NBCNews) June 3, 2024
The victim was participating in exercises with his seasoned ocean swimming group when he was attacked, the outlet reported. He was transported to Scripps Memorial Hospital in La Jolla to be treated for non-life-threatening injuries sustained from bites to his left hand, left arm and torso around 9 a.m., the City of Del Mar said in a statement, according to NBC News.
Veal was participating in the ocean swimming group when the 46-year-old was seriously injured by the shark. She told the TODAY show that the swimmers rushed to the victim’s aid and brought him back to shore. An ER doctor passing by reportedly intervened to assist the ailing victim once he was out of the water, according to the outlet.
“There is a massive all-hands-on-deck movement of support today,” Veal told NBC.
Photos shared by Veal showed paramedics treating the victim, who was wearing a swim cap, on a stretcher, the outlet reported. The victim was reportedly conscious during the incident. (RELATED: ‘He’s Bleeding Really Bad’: Bodycam Footage Shows Intense Moment Police Rescue Man After Shark Attack)
“I have never seen a shark sign or have known of an incident to occur right here,” one local beachgoer told NBC News.
Beaches within one mile of the shark attack were closed out of precaution, NBC News reported. Conditions were reportedly normal for the season, including 3-foot waves and 64-degree weather standard of a cool and cloudy “June gloom.” The beach will stay closed until at least Tuesday, the outlet reported.
