BREVARD COUNTY, Fla. – A 21-year-old man was attacked by a shark Wednesday afternoon off Playalinda Beach, Brevard County Fire Rescue officials said.
[PHOTOS: Shark bite victim shares pictures (Warning: Graphic)]
"He said, 'Man, a big shark just grabbed me,'" said Mike "Scotty" Burns, a lifelong surfer who was one of the first to help the young man.
Burns shot cellphone video as he and a woman tended to the victim. They sat him down, grabbed a towel to stop the bleeding and tended to the injury to his left hand. The video shows the surfer keeping calm moments after walking away from the shark attack.
"He said it happened so fast it was like, 'Boom!' It hit him. He was just in shock. He couldn't believe that he got bit by a shark, and then he couldn't believe that he was out there by himself," said Burns, who added that the surfer wondered when he would be able to surf again.
The victim, who was treated at Parish Medical Center, told News 6 via email that he suffered a a severed tendon in his hand. He was later released from the hospital.