Separate shark attacks injure 2 men on Florida's eastern coast

One attacked occurred in Jacksonville Beach, and another in New Smyrna Beach.

July 28, 2019, 2:37 AM

Two separate shark attacks injured beachgoers on Florida's eastern shore just an hour apart from each other on Saturday.

Both men are expected to be OK, officials said.

Frank O'Rourke, 23, said he was surfing at Jacksonville Beach Saturday when a shark jumped out of the water and bit him.

"I felt something jump out of the water and latch onto my arm by my elbow," he told Jacksonville ABC affiliate WJXX. "It just grabbed onto me and thrashed in the water and swam away."

PHOTO: Frank O'Rourke, 23, shows off his bandaged right arm after he was bitten by a shark while surfing in Jacksonville Beach, Fla., on Saturday, July 27, 2019.
Frank O'Rourke, 23, shows off his bandaged right arm after he was bitten by a shark while surfing in Jacksonville Beach, Fla., on Saturday, July 27, 2019.
Courtesy Frank O'Rourke

O'Rourke, who has been surfing at the location since he was a child, said he sees sharks at Jacksonville Beach regularly, but had never been bitten by one.

He said the shark was small, but it left a long, bloody bite wound on his right arm. O'Rourke was not taken to the hospital, and was instead treated on scene.

"If it's your time, it's your time," he told WJXX. "If the [sharks] want you, they want you. You're more likely to get struck by lightning than killed by a shark. I'm going to buy a lottery ticket."

He said he plans to be back in the water as soon as the injury heals.

PHOTO: Frank O'Rourke, 23, shows off the bite wound on his right arm after he was bitten by a shark while surfing in Jacksonville Beach, Fla., on Saturday, July 27, 2019.
Frank O'Rourke, 23, shows off the bite wound on his right arm after he was bitten by a shark while surfing in Jacksonville Beach, Fla., on Saturday, July 27, 2019.
Courtesy Frank O'Rourke

But O'Rourke was not the only one attacked on Saturday.

William Angell, 49, was boogie boarding at New Smyrna Beach, about 90 minutes south of Jacksonville, when he was attacked by a shark, as well.

The shark bit Angell, who was visiting from Arizona, on his right thigh at about 4:30 p.m. The injury was not considered serious.

"Victim received lacerations to the right thigh from one strike. The shark was not seen," Volusia County officials said in a release. "The victim was treated on scene and was not transported by ambulance."

Officials said he drove himself to Bert Fish Medical Center in nearby Edgewater, Florida, for further treatment.

Surveillance video of the incident was obtained by Surfline.

ABC News' Devin Villacis and Jason Volack contributed to this report.

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