A man was killed by a shark attack at a beach in Cape Cod, the first fatality in over 80 years in the state of Massachusetts.
There have been various programs on how to survive shark attacks. Unfortunately for the 26-year-old swimmer, was not able to survive his encounter with a shark.
Swimmer Killed By Shark Attack In Cape Cod
Arthur Medici, a 26-year-old from Revere, Massachusetts, was swimming in Newcomb Hollow Beach in Massachusetts' Cape Cod on Sept. 15 around noon when it was believed that he was attacked by a shark.
According to witnesses, Medici and a companion were riding boogie boards about 30 yards off the beach when the incident happened. Medici was pulled out of the water to be given first aid and CPR, but he passed away at the Cape Cod Hospital in Hyannis.
Medici, an engineering transfer option major, was enrolled as a part-time student in the spring at Bunker Hill Community College.
Cape Cod National Seashore acting deputy chief Chris Hartsgrove said that Medici's injuries appeared to have been inflicted by a shark. One of the witnesses, Joe Booth, described the scene as a "nightmare," with a giant eruption of water that was 15 feet wide.
"I saw a tail and a lot of thrashing," said Booth, adding that the body language of the people in the water signaled that there was something wrong.
According to Florida Program for Shark Research director Gavin Naylor, many attacks happen because sharks mistake human for prey. He did not have the complete details of the incident yet, but Naylor believed that the fatal shark attack in Cape Cod was due to mistaken identity.
"A 12-foot-long, 1,200-pound white shark moving at 20 knots with an open mouth does a bit of damage," Naylor said. "They're like a truck when they get bigger."
Cape Cod Shark Attacks
Medici was the first shark attack fatality in Massachusetts in over eight decades, but shark sightings have been increasing in Cape Cod due to the rising gray seal population.
Bill Lytton, a 61-year-old, almost lost his life in August before Medici, but he survived by fighting off the shark that attacked him.
Lytton was swimming a few yards away from the Longnook Beach in Cape Cod when he suddenly felt "beyond excruciating" pain, and after turning around, he saw a shark biting his leg. He then remembered seeing in documentaries that dolphins hit the gills of sharks to drive them away, so he punched the shark in its gills. The shark let him go, and Lytton was able to swim to shore to get help.
