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)
NEW YORK (AP) — The man accused of fatally setting a woman on fire inside a New York City subway train used his shirt to fan the flames, causing her to become engulfed in the blaze, a prosecutor said Tuesday.
Sebastian Zapeta, 33, who federal immigration officials said is a Guatemalan citizen who entered the U.S. illegally, made his first court appearance and was arraigned in Brooklyn criminal court.
He appeared briefly before a judge and wore a white jumpsuit over a weathered black hooded sweatshirt. He did not speak. He will remain jailed ahead of his next court date on Friday.
The apparently random attack occurred Sunday morning on a stationary F train at the Coney Island station in Brooklyn. Police said Tuesday that identification of the victim was still “pending at this time.”
Authorities say Zapeta approached the woman, who was sitting motionless in the train car and may have been sleeping, and used a lighter to set her clothing on fire. Zapeta then used his shirt to fan the flames, leading to her becoming engulfed in the fire, Assistant District Attorney Ari Rottenberg said on Tuesday.
Zapeta then sat at a bench on the subway platform and watched, according to police.
Rottenberg added that under interrogation Zapeta said he didn’t know what happened, noting that he consumes alcohol. But he alleged that Zapeta identified himself to interrogators in images related to the attack.
Video posted to social media appeared to show the woman standing inside the train ablaze as some people look on from the platform, and at least one officer walks by. NYPD Chief of Transit Joseph Gulotta said Sunday that several officers had responded to the fire and one stayed to keep the crime scene “the way it’s supposed to be" while the others went to get fire extinguishers and transit workers.
They were eventually able to douse the fire, but “unfortunately, it was too late,” Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch said — the woman was pronounced dead at the scene.
Zapeta was taken into custody Sunday afternoon while riding a train on the same subway line after police got a tip from some teenagers who recognized him from images circulated by the police.
A Brooklyn address for Zapeta released by police matches a shelter that provides housing and substance abuse support. The shelter did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Federal immigration officials said Zapeta had been previously deported in 2018 but at some point reentered the U.S. illegally.
In a statement, Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez called the attack a “gruesome and senseless act of violence against a vulnerable woman” that would be “met with the most serious consequences.”
The crime — and the graphic video of it that ricocheted across social media — deepened a growing sense of unease among some New Yorkers about the safety of the subway system in a city where many residents take the subway multiple times each day.
Overall, according to authorities, crime is down in the transit system this year when compared to last year — major felonies declined 6% between January and November of this year and in 2023, data compiled by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority show. But murders are up, with nine killings this year through November compared to five in the same period last year.
Earlier this month, a Manhattan jury acquitted Daniel Penny in the death of an agitated subway rider that the former Marine placed in a chokehold last year. The case became a flashpoint in ongoing debates over safety, homelessness and mental illness on the system.
Policing the subway is also difficult, given the vast network of trains constantly moving between the system’s 472 stations, with each stop containing multiple entry points and, in many stations, multiple floors and platforms.
On Sunday, police at the station where the woman burned to death were patrolling a different area and responded after seeing and smelling smoke, authorities said.
Sebastian Zapeta, accused of setting a woman on fire inside a subway train, appears in court in New York, on Tuesday, Dec. 24, 2024. (Curtis Means/Pool Photo via AP)
Sebastian Zapeta, 2nd left, accused of setting a woman on fire inside a New York City subway train, appears in court, Tuesday, Dec. 24, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Curtis Means via Pool)
Sebastian Zapeta, accused of setting a woman on fire inside a subway train, appears in court in New York, on Tuesday, Dec. 24, 2024. (Curtis Means/Pool Photo via AP)
Sebastian Zapeta, accused of setting a woman on fire inside a New York City subway train, appears in court, Tuesday, Dec. 24, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Curtis Means via Pool)
Sebastian Zapeta, accused of setting a woman on fire inside a New York City subway train, appears in court, Tuesday, Dec. 24, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Curtis Means via Pool)
Sebastian Zapeta, accused of setting a woman on fire inside a New York City subway train, appears in court, Tuesday, Dec. 24, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Curtis Means via Pool)
A suspect, identified by police as Sebastian Zapeta, is facing murder and arson charges in New York City for allegedly setting a woman on fire inside a subway train and then watching her die after she was engulfed in flames, police said Monday, Dec. 23, 2024. (WABC-TV via AP)
