Video: Spear Fisherman Attacked by Reef Shark Near Florida Keys
OutdoorHub Reporters 06.07.17
A spear fisherman was attacked by a shark in Key West, Florida while spearfishing near Middle Sambo Reef off Boca Chica in the southern Keys.
According to sources, Parker Simpson was the fisherman who filmed the moment an 8-foot reef shark “came out of nowhere” and charged directly at him.
In the video, you see the shark initially go for Simpson’s diving buddy, but it turns on Parker in a split second and takes a large chunk out left leg.
After finally getting back to the boat under the assistance of his diving partner, Simpson’s friend patched up his wound and he was transported to a nearby hospital. Simpson reportedly lost more than a liter of blood after the shark ripped his leg wide open and tore through his tibial artery.
Here is video uploaded to Parker’s YouTube channel and his description of the events that took place:
“The short clip of me getting attacked by a 7-8ft reef shark. We were spearfishing near Middle Sambo reef off Boca Chica in the Keys on Sunday when this shark came out of nowhere. He first went at my dive buddy Justyn but immediately turned toward me. He first bit my left fin then took a chunk out of the right one before biting my leg and cutting the speargun line. I assumed he was trying to steal the black grouper i was holding. But after I lost the grouper and watched it swim to the bottom, the shark kept coming at us! Justyn went back down for my gun and actually shoved it in the sharks mouth like a badass!!!! The shark then took it straight to the bottom while we rushed back to the boat and safety. Always dive with a buddy and someone who is trained in first aid! I would not have made it back to the boat without the help of another strong swimmer and would have bled out had I not been patched up so well by Amanda. The shark tore through the skin, fat tissue, muscle, muscle sheath, and unfortunately my tibial artery which caused me to lose more than a liter of blood.
This clearly could have been much worse! Happy to still have my leg even with a piece missing! And we even got my Koah speargun back!!!”
