The latest victim, identified only as a 49-year-old man from Arizona, was standing in the water at Fire Island’s Seaview Beach when he was attacked shortly after 6 p.m., Suffolk County police said. “The shark came from behind and bit him on the left wrist and buttocks,” police said in a statement. However, the victim was able to get out of the water before being taken to Stony Brook University Hospital with non-life-threatening injuries, the force said. The attack came less than 12 hours after 41-year-old attorney Shawn Donnelly was bitten on the calf while surfing at nearby Smith Point County Park in Shirley around 7:30 a.m. Lifeguard Zach Gallo believes he was bitten by a 5-foot tiger shark. Dennis A. Clark Warning signs at Long Island’s Smith Point Beach, site of two of three shark attacks in the past 10 days. Dennis A. Clark It was also where 33-year-old lifeguard Zach Gallo had been bitten just 10 days earlier. Meanwhile, a swimmer at Jones Beach suffered a cut to his right leg also believed to be a “possible shark bite” on June 30. Another lifeguard was bitten on the leg by a shark while training about 150 to 200 yards offshore at Ocean Beach on July 7, NBC New York reported. The latest shark attack occurred at Fire Island’s Seaview Beach. On Thursday, swimming at Fire Island’s Robert Moses State Park was halted for about 90 minutes after a lifeguard reported seeing a shark while surfing at 8 a.m., according to Newsday. Nassau police also responded to a reported shark sighting at Tobay Beach in Oyster Bay at about 1:20 p.m., the newspaper said. No injuries were reported. The latest fears came as injured lifeguard Gallo returned to duty Thursday at Smith Point County Park, the beach where he was bitten on the arm and chest during training on July 3. Lifeguard Zach Gallo helps a swimmer up.Dennis A. Clark He said at a news conference that he was worried, but “when I was in the water, I was happy to be back.” “My fellow guards and I were yelling, ‘Who’s ready for round two?’ he joked. Donnelly, the lawyer for the surfer who was bitten on Wednesday, told Newsday he was aware of the previous attacks before he became the latest victim in the waters where he had been surfing regularly since the age of 12. Lifeguard Zach Gallo returns to work helping swimmers at Smith Point County Beach.Dennis A. Clark Lifeguard Zach Gallo is seen carrying a man out of the water.Dennis A. Clark “It was a calculated risk that I was wrong,” he said. He believes his attacker was a 5-foot tiger shark that “went under me” — one he punched as a lucky wave broke, pushing him to shore, he told the paper. At first he thought he had escaped unhurt, but then “saw blood running down my leg and a clear bite mark,” he said of the 2-inch gash on his calf. The lawyer said it would not stop him from returning to riding waves – and made it clear he has no right to pursue a claim against his attacker. “I’m not afraid of him. He was just doing his job – he was a shark,” the lawyer said. Newsday also reported that swimming at Fire Island’s Robert Moses State Park was suspended for about 90 minutes Thursday morning after a lifeguard reported seeing a shark while surfing at 8 a.m.
