9-year-old bitten by shark in New Smyrna Beach

NEW SMYRNA BEACH, Fla. (FOX 35 ORLANDO) - A 9-year-old girl was bitten by a shark on Friday morning in New Smyrna Beach, Florida. 

The young girl received a bite on the leg while wading a knee-high water, according to Volusia County Beach Safety Ocean Rescue.

“She ran out of the water, and she told her mom that it didn’t appear to be a jelly fish sting and that’s when her mom realized that she was bit by a shark,” said Captain Tamra Malphurs.

The girl, who was visiting Central Florida with her family from Ohio, is the latest victim in a spate of shark bites at New Smyrna Beach. Reed Zipperer’s hand was chomped-on just two weeks ago, at the same beach.

“Right when it hit, I knew it was a shark. I started gushing blood, I was like aww sick,” said Zipperer.

His wounds required 19 stitches, but luckily, Friday's encounter wasn’t as serious. The girl was bitten once, leaving two punctures. Brian Uihlein saw the commotion and went over to see what was going on.

“She seemed very calm about the whole thing,” said Uihlein “They just wrapped her leg up a little bit, and she walked away with her parents.”

Beach Patrol says the girl’s mother took her to hospital. Despite the uptick in shark bites, the beach remains busy.

“I think it’s pretty crazy that a lot of people still come to this beach and go surfing and boogie-boarding,” said Trey Adams, beach-goer.

“It’s like a lottery, if a shark is gonna bite you, it’s gonna bite you but I’m not gonna not go in the water because I might get bite,” Uihlein added.