A man on Florida’s northeast coast was bitten by a shark this weekend but is now recovering, authorities said Sunday, in the third shark attack in state waters over the past month.
Officials from the Nassau County Sheriff’s Office Marine Unit responding to a distress call Friday morning found the victim in critical condition aboard a boat, losing blood from a “severe” shark bite on his right forearm, according to a social media post from the sheriff's office.
The attack occurred in the Amelia River near Fernandina Beach, about 35 miles (56 kilometers) north of Jacksonville, after the victim caught the shark while fishing, according to sheriff's office public affairs officer Alicia Tarancon.
After officers applied a tourniquet, the victim was taken to shore, where he was airlifted to a local hospital, The Florida Times-Union reported.
On Sunday, Tarancon told The Associated Press that the victim is alert and still recuperating at the hospital.
It’s the third shark attack in Florida in June. The other two attacks in the Florida panhandle in early June left three people injured and led to the temporary closure of beaches in Walton County.
Three more attacks were reported in the U.S. — one in Southern California and two in Hawaii, one resulting in death.
Stephen Kajiura, a Florida Atlantic University professor of biological sciences specializing in sharks, said the number of recent attacks is a “bit high” but is a natural result of more people in the water during summer and warmer waters.
“You’re going to have a higher probability of something happening because more people are coming to the beach,” he said. “It is strange to get so many bites in quick succession, but when you consider the number of people in water right now, it’s not that unusual.”
Another reason for increased shark activity is small bait fish, which sharks feed on, swimming close to the beach, Kajiura said. He also said scientists are seeing a resurgence of some species of sharks, which could mean more sharks are in the water.
According to experts, shark activity is at its peak during warmer months, but also while sharks are seasonally migrating in the fall and spring up and down the coast.
Still, Kajiura said, fatalities are rare.
Kajiura noted that Florida leads the world in shark bites.
Though none were fatal, Florida reported 16 unprovoked shark bite incidents last year, according to the Florida Museum of Natural History’s annual shark attack report. That represents 44% of the 36 total unprovoked bites in the U.S. in 2023, and a little less than a quarter worldwide.
Kajiura urged swimmers not to avoid the water – just be vigilant.
Avoid flashy jewelry or watches, which may appear similar to fish scales in the water, he said, and swim in groups and where there are lifeguards. Also, avoid swimming near schools of fish, where sharks may be lurking.
“You’ve probably been in the water with sharks before, and you didn’t know it,” he said. “Just be careful.”
FILE - Shaun Clark, left, and Jim Donnelly watch as a big wave starts to come ashore at Fernandina Beach, in Nassau County, Fla., Sept. 16, 2003. A man on Florida’s east coast was bitten by a shark this weekend, but is now recovering, Nassau County authorities said Sunday, June 30, 2024, in the third shark attack in state waters over the past month. (Bob Mack/The Florida Times-Union via AP)
SAO PAULO (AP) — A Brazilian Supreme Court justice said Thursday that he believes the explosion outside the court in capital Brasilia was the consequence of frequent far-right attacks and hate speech targeting the country’s institutions.
“It grew under the guise of a criminal use of freedom of speech. To offend, threaten, coerce," Justice Alexandre de Moraes said at an event in Brasilia.
Federal Police are investigating the explosions on Wednesday as terrorism and a violent attack on the democratic rule of law, its director, Andrei Passos Rodrigues, said at a news conference later.
He said that the man had attempted to enter the Supreme Court and that it appeared that he acted alone, though the police official indicated he also was viewing the attack in the broader context of extremism.
“Even if the visible action is individual, behind that action there is never just one person. It's always a group, or ideas of a group, or extremism, radicalism, that lead to committing those crimes,” Passos Rodrigues said. “The action, in fact, was an individual action, but the investigation will tell if there are other connections, if there are other networks, what's behind it, what drove it.”
The police director also said the Supreme Court has received fresh threats via email, without specifying when.
Security camera footage provided by the Supreme Court shows the suspect approaching a statue outside the building. As a guard nears, the man throws an explosive and retreats a few steps, then throws a second device and an explosion follows. Finally, the suspect ignites a third device near to himself, causing his death.
Passos Rodrigues said that the man was a native of southern Santa Catarina state where he previously ran for city council, and had been in Brasilia several months. Police went to his Brasilia residence Thursday and used a robot to open a drawer that triggered “a very serious explosion,” he said.
Celina Leão, the lieutenant governor of Brazil’s federal district, said Wednesday night that the man first detonated explosives in a car in a Congress parking lot, which didn't cause injuries. Then he went to Three Powers Plaza, where the Supreme Court, Congress and presidential palace are located.
Local media identified the man as being a member of Brazil’s Liberal Party, the same as former President Jair Bolsonaro.
Bolsonaro has railed against the Supreme Court in the past and specifically focused his ire on de Moraes.
Bolsonaro supporters consider de Moraes their chief enemy. He has led a five-year investigation into fake news and threats against Supreme Court justices, which has led to the ban of some far-right allies and supporters from social media and even some imprisonments. He also presided over the nation’s top electoral court when it ruled Bolsonaro ineligible for office until 2030, finding that he had abused his power and cast unfounded doubts on the validity of the 2022 election result.
Bolsonaro condemned the attack on social media.
“It is high time for Brazil to once again cultivate an environment suitable for different ideas to confront each other peacefully, and for the strength of arguments to be worth more than the argument of force,” he wrote.
Some accuse de Moraes of overstepping in the name of protecting Brazilian democracy from political violence and disinformation. Others view his brash tactics as justified by extraordinary circumstances.
Months after Bolsonaro lost his 2022 election bid, his supporters stormed the main government buildings in Brasilia, seeking to oust his leftist successor, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, from power. It was widely seen as an echo of the insurrection in the U.S. Capitol two years earlier.
The Supreme Court has since convicted hundreds of those involved in the uprising for crimes such as criminal association and attempted coup.
De Moraes said Thursday that the explosions outside the Supreme Court appeared to be the most serious attack on the institution since then.
“The country’s pacification is only possible with the accountability of all criminals. There is no possibility of pacification with amnesty for criminals,” de Moraes said.
Earlier this year, de Moraes ordered a nationwide ban of X after clashing with its billionaire owner, Elon Musk, over free speech, far-right accounts and misinformation. Musk had disparaged de Moraes, calling him an authoritarian and a censor, even though his rulings, including X’s suspension, were repeatedly upheld by his peers. The platform was reinstated in October.
Brazil will host the G20 summit in Rio de Janeiro next week. Passos Rodrigues said that the bombing shouldn’t raise any concerns, given that authorities are already implementing the highest level security possible, including with support of the armed forces.
“I am going this afternoon, shortly, to Rio de Janeiro, where I will personally accompany all actions so we can have the absolute guarantee of security,” he added.
A body lies on a road outside the Supreme Court in Brasília, Brazil, following an explosion, Wednesday, Nov. 13, 2024. (AP Photo/Eraldo Peres)
A body lies outside the Supreme Court in Brasília, Brazil, following an explosion, Wednesday, Nov. 13, 2024. (AP Photo/Eraldo Peres)
Police inspect a vehicle outside the Supreme Court in Brasília, Brazil, following an explosion, Wednesday, Nov. 13, 2024. (AP Photo/Eraldo Peres)
Federal police director Andrei Passos speaks during a news conference regarding an explosion outside the Supreme Court, in Brasilia, Brazil, Thursday, Nov. 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Eraldo Peres)
Federal police director Andrei Passos arrives to a news conference regarding an explosion outside the Supreme Court, in Brasilia, Brazil, Thursday, Nov. 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Eraldo Peres)
Federal police officers inspect a body outside the Supreme Court following an explosion the previous night, in Brasilia, Brazil, Thursday, Nov. 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Eraldo Peres)
Federal police officers inspect a body outside the Supreme Court following an explosion the previous night, in Brasilia, Brazil, Thursday, Nov. 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Eraldo Peres)
Federal police officers inspect a body outside the Supreme Court following an explosion the previous night, in Brasilia, Brazil, Thursday, Nov. 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Eraldo Peres)
Forensic officers collect a body outside the Supreme Court following an explosion the previous night in Brasilia, Brazil, Thursday, Nov. 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Eraldo Peres)
Federal police officers inspect a body outside the Supreme Court following an explosion the previous night, in Brasilia, Brazil, Thursday, Nov. 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Eraldo Peres)
Forensic officers collect a body outside the Supreme Court following an explosion the previous night in Brasilia, Brazil, Thursday, Nov. 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Eraldo Peres)
A body lies on the ground outside the Supreme Court following an explosion the previous night, in Brasilia, Brazil, Thursday, Nov. 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Eraldo Peres)
Federal police officers inspect a body outside the Supreme Court following an explosion the previous night, in Brasilia, Brazil, Thursday, Nov. 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Eraldo Peres)
