The man emerged from the water bleeding from his foot and fell to the ground, according to eyewitnesses
Credit: Michael M. Santiago/Getty
NEED TO KNOW
- A man suffered non-life-threatening injuries in a suspected shark attack at Jones Beach State Park on Long Island on July 3
- Lifeguards cleared the water for about an hour while officials searched for sharks before reopening the beach with swimming restrictions
- The incident came after multiple shark sightings prompted temporary beach closures in the New York City area
A man was injured in a suspected shark attack in the waters off Long Island, N.Y.
The incident occurred at Jones Beach State Park's Field 6 on Friday, July 3, at around 12 p.m. local time, according to ABC 7, NBC New York and CBS New York.
Eyewitnesses say the victim emerged from the water bleeding from his foot and ultimately fell to the ground once on land, according to NBC New York.
Lifeguards tended to the man before emergency services transported him to Nassau University Medical Center with non-life-threatening injuries, NBC New York and CBS News reported.
"Bandaged him up and he was transported to Nassau University Medical Center. We immediately brought everybody in from the water," State Parks Regional Director George Gorman told CBS New York.
Credit: Spencer Platt/Getty
The incident occurred on a crowded beach day, with about 100,000 people at the Nassau County beach at the time, per ABC 7 and NBC New York.
A spokesperson for the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation (NYS Parks) told NBC New York that the man's wound was large and consistent with a possible cut from a tooth.
Eyewitnesses said that lifeguards immediately ordered swimmers out of the ocean once they saw the man's injury, and swimming was suspended for about an hour as officials looked for potential danger in the water, according to ABC 7, NBC New York and CBS New York.
"After no sharks or other dangerous marine life were observed for an hour, swimming was reauthorized but restricted to wading up to swimmers' waists,” the state parks office said in a statement to CBS New York, adding that the incident remains under investigation.
Credit: Getty
The Jones Beach Lifeguard Corps and NYS Parks did not immediately respond to PEOPLE's request for comment.
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The incident comes after several shark sightings in the area.
A shark was spotted several hours earlier at around 10:30 a.m. at Rockaway Beach in Queens, prompting officials to close the beach for about an hour, according to ABC 7 and PIX 11.
On Thursday, July 2, officials spotted a shark estimated to be between 8 and 9 feet long at Point Lookout in Hempstead in Nassau County, according to PIX 11 and NewsNation.
The surrounding beaches were closed for about an hour, according to the outlets.
Notify NYC, an X account operated by the New York City Emergency Management, additionally shared that there had been "multiple shark sightings" on July 2 at Rockaway Beach, and that beachgoers should "expect intermittent beach closures."
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