Shark bites surfer in Melbourne Beach causing deep lacerations on arm

MELBOURNE, Fla. - On Tuesday, all day long, conditions were unusually good for surfers in Brevard County. It also presented the right conditions for another shark encounter.

The victim told first responders he was in the middle of riding a wave and felt a bite on his left arm.  It was a bite that caused deep lacerations and a lot of blood.

The 25-year-old surfer, whose identity is not being released, then came out of the water, made his way towards the nearby staircase and followed the path out to A1A. 

Just across the way was a Brevard County Fire Sub-Station. The injured surfer went in and firefighters then helped him into an ambulance, sending him to Holmes Regional Medical Center.

The bite happened at about 8 o’clock in the morning, before people from nearby condominiums started making their way out to the private beach area. 

But word spread quickly through this small community and on social media that a surfer was hurt by a shark.

"I saw it on Faceboo," said boogie boarder Steve Shepard. 

That post didn’t stop him from heading into the surf. Shepard, visiting family in Brevard County from Texas, knows shark bites happen sometimes on Space Coast.

"I thought about it a little bit...but not enough to not go in," Shepard said. 

Back in April, a man on Cocoa Beach was bitten and transported to a hosptial with non-life-threatening injuries.

Last month, lifeguards temporarily closed part of the beach in Cocoa Beach due to a shark sighting. 

"I haven’t seen any yet...no." Shepard said.

Brevard County Fire Rescue said at this time of year, lots of mullet fish are running in the water and those are the fish that sharks love to eat.  The victim might have been surfing in the middle of breakfast.  County officials say the injuries were serious, but expect him to make a full recovery.