Shark attacks 9-year-old girl in Florida
Body camera video from the Lee County Sheriff’s Office shows how officials responded when a 9-year-old girl was bitten by a shark. (Lee County Sheriff’s Office)
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A South Carolina beachgoer is lucky to be alive after walking away with serious injuries from a suspected shark attack earlier this week.
The incident reportedly occurred off the coast of the south end of Hilton Head Island on Tuesday, a Hilton Head Island Fire Rescue official confirmed to Fox News Digital.
“The incident involved a patient with a leg injury consistent with lacerations typically associated with a shark bite,” the department said in a statement.
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The victim sustained “serious injuries” consistent with a shark attack, according to Hilton Head Island Fire Rescue. (iStock)
Local rescue crews were dispatched to beach marker 24 in Sea Pines Beach at approximately 12:07 p.m. regarding reports of a medical emergency.
Firefighters and lifeguards subsequently treated the victim at the scene before transporting her to Hilton Head Island Airport, where she was then airlifted to a local facility in Savannah for further medical treatment.
Local officials declined Fox News Digital’s request for information regarding the victim’s identity and condition, citing privacy regulations.
Lifeguards monitor the surf at Coligny Beach on Hilton Head Island. (Richard Burkhart/Savannah Morning News via USA Today)
The attack comes just days after a 9-year-old girl was bitten by a shark on Florida’s Gulf Coast, according to Fox 13.
Leah Lendel was enjoying a snorkeling trip with her family in Boca Grande on June 11 when a shark bit her hand, the outlet reported.
The injuries left her hand “hanging by a little piece of skin,” a witness reportedly said.
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9-year-old Leah Lendel was bitten by a shark in the waters off Florida’s Gulf Coast on June 11, 2025. (iStock)
Lendel was pulled from the water by a nearby construction crew and airlifted to Tampa General Hospital, where she underwent surgery involving artery grafts, bone reconstruction and nerve repair.
“I didn’t see anything,” Lendel said at a news conference Thursday. “I was just snorkeling and I went up to breathe, then something hard bit me and it tried to take me away. Then I pick up my hand and it’s all in blood. Then, I started screaming with my mom. And then, my dad was with me. He picked me up, then we ran to the road.
Doctors were able to save Lendel’s hand, a feat they partially credit to how “clean” the bite was.
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“The shark’s teeth are so sharp that the cut through the wrist is clean and not jagged, and it doesn’t ruin all the tissue,” Dr. Alfred Hess said.
Lendel anticipates she will return to the water once she has made a full recovery.
“She’s done a fantastic job, I can already tell you,” Dr. Joshua Linnell said. “I just keep looking over at those fingers because we worked hard on that.”
Lendel’s family did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.
