A Florida spearfisher was left with devastating injuries to both arms after a 300lb bull shark attacked him in front of his stunned friends.
The 40-year-old diver was finishing his last dive of the day on Tuesday when the shark struck in waters near Pensacola, about 30 miles off the Emerald Coast.
‘I was helping one of the other divers get undressed when I heard, “Help, help. I’ve been bit,”‘ boat captain Jacob Johnson told Fox 10.
Johnson said his friend sounded so composed while calling for help that, for a moment, he thought it might be a joke. Then he looked down and saw the water turning red with blood.
‘I look over the side and he’s surrounded in blood. No time for emotions. I jumped in,’ Johnson said.
The shark had torn into both of the man’s forearms so badly that he was unable to pull himself back aboard the boat.
‘As soon as it happened, everybody went into instinct mode,’ said Johnson.
Once in the water, Johnson quickly removed the injured diver’s gear and pushed him onto the vessel, where the rest of the group immediately began helping in the frantic rescue effort.
Boat captain Jacob Johnson recounted the terrifying moment a bull shark attacked one of his fishing buddies
The men were wrapping up their last dive of the day on Tuesday, roughly 30 miles off Florida’s Emerald Coast, when one of the divers began screaming that he had been bitten
‘Everybody was helping. One guy was getting his shirt off to tourniquet his arm,’ said the captain.
‘Another guy had wound seal and it clots your blood. Filled it.
‘Tourniquet around arm with zip ties. I pulled it tight and he said, “That’s too tight.” I pulled it again. “You’re not bleeding out on my watch.”‘
The other divers kept speaking to the victim to keep him calm while awaiting the Coast Guard, which then brought him to shore where he was airlifted to a hospital.
An artery in one of the diver’s arms was injured in the attack, while the other arm required dozens of stitches.
The attack left the victim unable to work and it could take months to him to recover, according to a GoFundMe set up on the diver’s behalf.
Johnson said that his friend underwent one surgery and is resting, as doctors expect him to make a full recovery.
‘Every one of our prayers were not only heard, but answered,’ said the captain.
The harrowing experience won’t keep the men out of the water and they plan to keep spearfishing, said Johnson.
The 40-year-old unidentified victim was attacked by a bull shark which savaged his arms and damaged his arteries (stock photo)
The captain added that the area where they were diving was very active with ocean life on the day of the attack, and that a bull shark bit his spear gun on an earlier dive.
‘It was kind of an eerie feeling on the dives we went on. I had three shark encounters myself. Two of which I didn’t even have a fish on me, so one bit my gun on the way down on the descent,’ Johnson said.
However, no one was injured in the earlier dives.
There have been 1,186 shark attacks in Florida between 1780 and 2026, according to Shark Data Lab.
Of those attacks, 44 were fatal, with bull sharks being the species most often involved.
A bull shark can reach up to 11 ft in length and can live longer than 30 years according to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FFWCC).
‘Bull sharks are more aggressive than most shark species and responsible for many unprovoked attacks on humans worldwide,’ said the FFWCC.
According to officials, some experts believe bull sharks are more dangerous than white or tiger sharks, as they account for the third highest number of attacks on humans.
