Firefighter, 31, attacked by shark while surfing as stomach-churning footage shows blood gushing into water
HORRIFYING images now show the aftermath of a Florida shark bite that left the hand of a local firefighter bleeding into the ocean.
Early last week, firefighter and surfer CJ Lyles, 31, went out to catch some waves off New Smyrna Beach — just over 20 minutes south of Daytona Beach.
He isn’t a stranger to sharks and saw multiple while he was out surfing on July 30.
He in an Instagram post that the sharks were small, and not a big enough concern for him to paddle into shore.
However, that all soon changed.
Lyles said that as he paddled back out after catching one wave, a shark approximately three feet long “latched” onto his left hand.
“I felt sharp teeth and pressure,” Lyles said in the Instagram post.
“It scared the sh** out of me, my first reaction was to pull away but it was hard with the shark thrashing around.
“It didn’t hold on long but it felt like awhile.”
After the finned beast let go of the surfer’s hand, he said he was scared to look down.
“I thought my fingers were gone,” Lyles said.
After making it to shore, the surfer quickly made his way to a nearby trauma center where they did a loose stitching on the hand.
The next day, he underwent surgery for a tendon repair.
However, that isn’t stopping him from getting back in the water.
“I will surf again when my hand fully heals," he told The U.S. Sun.
When speaking with WSVN, Lyles pointed to the fact that many of the shark bites that have been recorded are from small sharks that are looking for fish.
“We’re thankfully not losing arms or legs,” Lyles said.
“It’s usually small bites, so we’re still gonna surf.”
Last week’s shark attack marks the sixth recorded in Volusia County in 2024 so far, according to WSVN.
READ MORE SUN STORIES
In 2023, the state of Florida had 16 shark bites .
None were fatal.