Eagan Boy Survives Shark Attack While Vacationing In Miami

Eagan MN

23 March, 2021

10:21 AM

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EAGAN, MN— A nine-year-old boy was attacked by a sharkwhile body-surfing in Miami on Sunday, Florida TV Station WPLG Local 10 reported. AP News reported that the boy, Jay Weiskopf, and his parents, Kristine and Ren Weiskopf, are from Eagan. The shark bit a chunk out of Jay's shoulder while he and his mother were in the water, Kristine saying she had been holding her son's hand the whole time, reports said. Jay fell unto his stomach and when Kristine pulled him up, she noticed the bite, reports said. "He just said, 'Ow,' and I looked down and there was about a 4-foot gray shark just kinda swimming away, so I just scooped him up and ran him up the beach," Kristine told WPLG Local 10. Miami Beach Fire Rescue met the family on the sand near Third Street, where Jay was transported to Jackson Memorial Hospital, where he went into surgery, reports said. Ren told WPLG Local 10 that the family is thankful that Jay survived, but that other beach goers could still be in danger. "What I don't like right now is that the beach is still open, and kids are still down there playing, and they are in the same spot where my son just got attacked. I don't know if it's just because of spring break or whatever, but the beach should be closed," Ren told WPLG Local 10. There have only been 17 shark attacks in Miami-Dade County since 1882, according to the Florida Museum of History's International Shark Attack File. They also said that shark bites are more frequent further north along Florida's East Coast, with Volusia County reporting 320 and Brevard County reporting 153. The original version of this story was reported on by Patch's Tiffany Razzano.