Surfer attacked in 'shark bite capital of the world' after landing on predator

03 August 2023 , 03:41

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A surfer was bitten by a shark and detailed his shock after the incident (Image: WKMG TV)

Brandon Boncore has surfed in the waters of New Smyrma Beach hundreds of times, and in all of his excursions, he had never encountered a shark.

On Monday, his luck ran out, however — he not only met one of the aquatic predators, but it also bit him. "I felt it, and I was just like, 'Oh cr*p, not me,'" he told Click Orlando.

It's not the first time the 22-year-old has seen the creatures swimming at the beach, but he'd managed to escape the painful jab of their jaws until Monday. As he surfed that day, he eventually saw several near him as he caught his first wave.

Emergency services arrive to treat Brandon Boncore at New Smyrma Beach (WKMG TV)

"In New Smyrma, that's kind of normal," he said. The beach is known as the "shark bite capitol of the world." But the sharks left him to his own devices.

It was as he paddled back to shore, however, that he encountered the monster that bit him in the foot. He landed right on top of it, he said, and it attacked — a result of him accidentally provoking it.

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"It bit me right in the foot, and I just took my right foot and kicked it off," he said. "I jumped on my board and looked back, and the first thing I thought was, 'Oh, thank God. My toe's there."

Shark attacks have been on the rise, accounting for several injuries in recent months (Getty Images/iStockphoto)

He still had to get numerous stitches in his foot, however — the shark left a massive gash. A paramedic had been swimming next to Boncore, thankfully, and called 911 when they got out of the water and helped him until EMS arrived.

He's set to make a full recovery, but needs to stay off his foot for a month. The experience of getting bitten by a shark isn't what you'd think, Boncore said. It was just a lot of pressure on his foot, he said, and wasn't the intensely painful experience he thought it would be — though it still hurt.

Brandon Boncore described being bitten by a shark (WKMG TV)

Boncore's bit marked the fourth in Volusia County, Florida, this year. One of the other four was Boncore's friend, Chris Pospisil, who also got bitten at New Smyrma's North Beach just a couple of weeks ago.

Boncore had been there when the attack happened — but it didn't deter him from going back out in to the water and enjoying the surf. And neither has his own attack. Once Boncore recovers, he wants to get back out into the water. He's a college golfer, an avid skater and loves everything to do with the water — and a little nip from a shark isn't going to stop him.

Jeremiah Hassel