A devoted father and soon-to-be grandfather is believed to have been killed by a shark while swimming at an Australian beach this week.
Greg O’Neill, 63, was swimming at Sorrento Beach in Perth’s northern suburbs on Friday when the suspected attack occurred in front of horrified beachgoers.
Ryan Rowe, a local resident who arrived at the beach shortly afterward, told The West Australian he was stunned by the amount of blood in the water. “I couldn’t believe there was that much blood (that had) come out of a human body,” he said.
A great white shark swims in a file photo. (Design Pics Editorial/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)
The death led Western Australia Fisheries Minister Jackie Jarvis to issue the rare order to catch and kill the great white shark believed to be responsible. Great white sharks are a protected species.
“In making that decision, I considered the exceptional circumstances of the attack, the hazard posed by the shark, and the potential recovery of coronial evidence,” Jarvis said.
Police have not said whether O’Neill’s remains have been recovered, but said they were confident the “swimmer died as a result of the attack.”
Police stand on Sorrento Beach in Perth, Australia, on Friday after a suspected fatal shark attack. (Andrew O’Connor/Australian Broadcasting Corp via AP)
Witness Darrel Haythornthwaite told Nine Network television that O’Neill had been swimming with a friend when the shark attacked.
“I was just shocked. I mean, I feel for his mate,” Haythornthwaite said. After O’Neill’s friend apologized and said, “I didn’t save my mate,” Haythornthwaite reassured him: “You couldn’t have done anything.”
Speaking to ABC News Australia, O’Neill’s family said they were “deeply shocked and devastated” by the loss of Greg James O’Neill, a father, grandfather-to-be, brother, uncle, husband and friend.
A police boat and helicopter patrol Sorrento Beach in Perth, Australia, on Friday after a suspected fatal shark attack. (Andrew O’Connor/Australian Broadcasting Corp via AP)
“He was a generous, devoted family man that gave his children so much love, care and opportunity,” the family said. “Greg loved the ocean and was known as a passionate swimmer, sports lover, dedicated worker and an all round generous, witty guy.” They added that the family deeply appreciated the kind thoughts and support offered by those who had reached out.
The incident came days after a surfer sustained a serious leg injury in a shark attack about 250 miles north of Perth on Monday.
O’Neill was the fifth person to die in a shark attack in Australia this year.
Three spearfishing divers were killed in separate attacks between May and June, while a 12-year-old boy died in a shark attack in Sydney Harbor in January.
