Ryan Shapiro, 18, said he was just beginning his session, in waist-high water, when a spinner shark latched on to his arm and tore through seven tendons. “I just felt this shark hit me so hard in the arm. It was just so scary and so real,” commented Ryan to West Palm Beach News and Weather. “I was just screaming and everyone kind of got the idea that I got bit.” Despite the relative small size of the shark (believed to be 4 feet), the situation could have been much worse had it not been for the several other surfers and bystanders (including Shapiro’s sister) that helped mitigate the bleeding until paramedics arrived. Ryan is making a full recovery at Lawnwood Regional Medical Center. When released, Shapiro said, “I’m going to be back out there for sure.”
