MICKLER'S LANDING, Fla. — St. Johns Fire Rescue said a swimmer was pulled from the surf at Mickler's Landing about 11 a.m. Monday with an apparent shark bite.
The middle-aged woman was in stable condition when transferred to the Mayo Clinic for treatment.
Rescuers said the woman who was visiting from out of town was in chest-deep water when she saw the 3- to 4-foot-long shark coming directly at her. They said she blocked it with her arm, and the shark dug in.
"She screamed, 'I just got attacked by a shark. Everyone get out of the water,'" witness Jen Moe said. "She came running at me, screaming. I looked at her arm and it was just shredded."
Witnesses said about 50-75 people who were in the water at the time of the attack ran for the sand when the victim screamed.
"When she came out, her arm was bloody, and everyone was like, 'She was bit by a shark,'" Moe said.
Rescuers said what made the shark attack unusual was that the water was crystal clear and, according to experts, shark attacks are usually the result of mistaken identity, but in this case it appears the shark was headed right for the woman.
"She was in shock, literally. She screamed a couple times," Moe said.
The victim was able to walk to the beach where she was helped by lifeguards.
Ironically, it's Shark Week on the Discovery Channel, and beachgoer Trecia Todd said that makes the attack
even more odd.
"I was just watching survival stories last night, and then today, there's evidence of a shark attack," Todd said.
If this were confirmed as a shark bite, it would be the third attack in local waters in the past two months. The previous two were at Jacksonville Beach, one on June 10 and another on July 23.