An eight-year-old boy was bitten by a shark while snorkeling off the Florida Keys and was later flown to a trauma center in Miami. The incident occurred on Monday afternoon (Labor Day) off Key Largo.
Incident off Key Largo
According to the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office, the boy was snorkeling with his father and a sibling at a reef on the ocean side of Key Largo when the bite occurred shortly before 3:30 p.m. A charter boat for snorkeling and diving guests brought the injured boy ashore, where he was airlifted to the Ryder Trauma Center at Jackson Memorial Hospital for further treatment. The child’s condition was not initially disclosed. The left leg was affected.
"On-site witness, the father, reported heavy blood loss. The injury is significant; the patient is pale," said the recorded radio communication of the emergency responders.
The fire department praised the quick help of the charter boat crew and referred to a "Good Samaritan." The suspected animal is described as a reef shark; its length is unknown.
Assessment: Rare, but possible
Florida records the highest number of unprovoked shark attacks nationwide in the U.S. However, in Monroe County they are comparatively rare: between 1882 and 2021, 21 cases were registered there – compared to more than 900 statewide in the same period. In 2024, according to the International Shark Attack File, the U.S. recorded 28 unprovoked incidents, 14 of them in Florida.
