Firefighter, 31, attacked by shark while surfing as stomach-churning footage shows blood gushing into water
HORRIFYING images now show the aftermath of a Florida shark bite that left the hand of a local firefighter bleeding into the ocean.
Early last week, firefighter and surfer CJ Lyles, 31, went out to catch some waves off New Smyrna Beach — just over 20 minutes south of Daytona Beach.
Lyles, who is from the area, has been surfing for years as his father makes surfboards, he told local outlet WSVN.
He isn’t a stranger to sharks and saw multiple while he was out surfing on July 30.
He revealed in an Instagram post that the sharks were small, and not a big enough concern for him to paddle into shore.
However, that all soon changed.
Lyles said that as he paddled back out after catching one wave, a shark approximately three feet long “latched” onto his left hand.
“I felt sharp teeth and pressure,” Lyles said in the Instagram post.
“It scared the sh** out of me, my first reaction was to pull away but it was hard with the shark thrashing around.
“It didn’t hold on long but it felt like awhile.”
After the finned beast let go of the surfer’s hand, he said he was scared to look down.
“I thought my fingers were gone,” Lyles said.
He swiftly paddled back into shore with one arm, yelling expletives as he went.
Videos taken immediately after the shocking attack show Lyles attempting to clean out the wound with water.
Blood can be seen gushing into the ebbing tidewater.
Lyles, a firefighter in the city of Edgewater, said that he was unable to bend his index fingers, indicating that a simple stitch wouldn’t fix his hand.
Shark attacks in 2023
In 2023, there were 79 shark bites globally.
Of that number, 69 were unprovoked and 10 were provoked fatal bites.
The United States had 36 unprovoked attacks which accounted for 52% of the incidents worldwide.
Two of the attacks, one in California and the other in Hawaii, were fatal.
Consistently, Florida has had the most attacks in the country with 2023 being no different. The Sunshine State had 16 attacks last year.
Three of the 10 fatalities in 2023 happened in a remote surfing spot off the coast of southern Australia known as The Eyre Peninsula.
The area is home to seals, so they lure in great whites.
The other five fatal attacks were spread out across the globe with one in the Bahamas, Egypt, Mexico, and New Caledonia.
According to Florida Museum’s International Shark Attack File
After making it to shore, the surfer quickly made his way to a nearby trauma center where they did a loose stitching on the hand.
The next day, he underwent surgery for a tendon repair.
While at the hospital, Lyles had his girlfriend bring him a change of clothes as his shirt had gotten blood on it after the accident.
Unknowingly, she grabbed a t-shirt that was ironically fitting for the occasion.
It’s usually small bites, so we’re still gonna surf.
CJ Lyles
“Little did she know she grabbed the one shirt that says ‘shark bite’ on it,” the surfer revealed.
Lyles told WSVN that he has been told it may take at least two weeks to recover from the attack.
“Doctor said at least two weeks, but we will see what happens,” he told the outlet.
He confirmed to The U.S. Sun that he begins therapy for his injury on Monday.
In the days following the shark attack, Lyles described his recovery as “good” so far.
The local surfer was attacked by a shark along the beach that has been dubbed the shark capital of the world.
However, that isn’t stopping him from getting back in the water.
“I will surf again when my hand fully heals,” he told The U.S. Sun.
When speaking with WSVN, Lyles pointed to the fact that many of the shark bites that have been recorded are from small sharks that are looking for fish.
“We’re thankfully not losing arms or legs,” Lyles said.
“It’s usually small bites, so we’re still gonna surf.”
Last week’s shark attack marks the sixth recorded in Volusia County in 2024 so far, according to WSVN.
In 2023, the state of Florida had 16 shark bites reported.
None were fatal.