An eight-year-old boy suffered severe injuries after being bitten by a shark while snorkelling near Key Largo, Florida, on Monday. Authorities reported that the child lost a significant amount of blood and was airlifted to a hospital in Miami for treatment to a leg wound above the knee. His condition remained unknown as of Tuesday morning.
The attack occurred in the afternoon near Horseshoe Reef, according to the Monroe County Sheriff's Office. The species of shark involved has not been identified, but the Florida Keys are home to several species, including bonnethead, blacktip, and bull sharks. In July 2024, a bull shark bit a 37-year-old man spearfishing near Key West.
Emergency dispatch communications obtained by local news outlet WSVN revealed the severity of the incident. A medical responder reported: 'We have an eight-year-old … significant amount of blood loss. Patient is pale. He’s been applied two tourniquets, we also put [on a] bandage to control the bleeding.'
Florida leads the United States and the world in unprovoked shark bites, according to the University of Florida's International Shark Attack File. Of the 47 unprovoked bites recorded worldwide in 2024, 28 occurred in the US, with 14 in Florida. Despite this, shark bites remain relatively rare, with an analysis of incidents between 1642 and 2024 showing 535 incidents across eight Florida beaches.
Tracking website trackingsharks.com recorded 43 shark bite attacks globally in 2025 up to mid-August, eight of which were fatal. The most recent shark-related death in the US occurred in June 2024, when actor Tamayo Perry was killed while surfing in Oahu, Hawaii.
