MIAMI BEACH, Fla. – A 9-year-old boy from Minnesota who was body surfing at a Florida beach was bitten by a shark on Sunday, according to his parents.
“It was straight out of a horror show,” Kristine Weiskopf told KARE-TV about the injury suffered by her son, Jay.
Kristine, Ren and Jay Weiskopf were only in the ocean for about 10 minutes when the shark attacked in water that was approximately 2 feet deep, the television station reported.
“I was holding his hand the whole time and he was kind of body surfing a little bit and he had fallen on his stomach,” Kristine Weiskopf told WLPG.
When she pulled the boy up, Kristine Weiskopf noticed that her son’s shoulder was missing a chunk of skin.
“He just said, ‘Ow,’ and I looked down and there was about a 4-foot gray shark just kinda swimming away, so I just scooped him up and ran him up the beach,” she told WPLG.
Nurses on vacation helped apply pressure to the boy’s wound, and the family was met by Miami Beach Fire Rescue. The responders took the boy to an area hospital to close the wound, the television station reported.
“They took that bandage off (at the hospital), I almost hit the floor. I had to sit down,” Kristine Weiskopf told KARE.
“Shark tried to eat me,” Jay Weiskopf said from his hospital bed on Monday, the television station reported.
The Weiskopfs said they remain concerned about other beachgoers.
“What I don’t like right now is that the beach is still open, and kids are still down there playing, and they are in the same spot where my son just got attacked,” Ren Weiskopf told WPLG. “I don’t know if it’s just because of spring break or whatever, but the beach should be closed.”
Kristine Weiskopf said officials from the Miami Seaquarium have invited the family for a VIP visit to see the site’s dolphins, seals and penguins, KARE reported.
“We’re from Minnesota. We don’t have oceans. I never thought in 2 feet of water that something of this magnitude could happen because it wasn’t just a scratch,” Kristine Weiskopf told the television station. “It was horrific and we’re lucky that we didn’t lose him.”
