2 People Reportedly Bitten By Shark On Same Florida Beach

FERNANDINA BEACH, FL — Two people were possibly bitten by sharks at the same Florida beach on Friday, prompting officials to close off the water to the public. As of Saturday morning, the waters had reopened to the public but officials were on high alert and continued to monitor the waters.

The Fernandina Beach Fire Department responded to the beach at around 3:40 p.m. for an "alleged shark bite" incident. Around the same time, authorities received a report of another possible shark bite further south on the beach and personnel were dispatched to respond to that incident.

Both patients are in stable condition and have non-life threatening injuries, the fire department said in a news release. According to the fire department, neither patient could say what type or size of sea creature had bitten them.

First Coast News reported that the victims were a 17-year-old boy and a 30-year-old man.

A witness told First Coast News that one of the bite victims yelled and started hopping and then looked towards her and said "I got bit, I got bit." The man was apparently barely able to make it out of the water before reaching the life guard stand where they began dressing his wound.

A sheriff's official told Action News that fishermen have been catching sharks off the beach all week.

File photo by Renee Schiavone/Patch