A shark chomped on a fisherman’s arm after the unsuspecting angler reeled him in on Long Island on Tuesday, according to authorities.
The man was unaware he had a 2- to 3-foot gray shark on his line as he fished off a pier in the village of Island Park in Hempstead around 2:30 p.m., said cops and town officials.
“He didn’t realize it was a shark, brought it up on shore, tried to unhook it, and in that process, the shark bit him on the arm,” Hempstead spokesman Brian Devine told The Post.
The shark (pictured here) bit the fisherman after he reeled it in while fishing in Shell Creek Park. Town of Hemstead“This is purely of his doing,” Devine said of the man.
“He brought the shark to him.”
The Island Park Fire Department applied a tourniquet to the unidentified man’s bloody arm before he was taken to a local hospital with minor injuries.
The pier, located in Shell Creek Park, is a popular fishing spot for locals, while swimming is prohibited, Devine said.
Shell Creek Park is a popular spot for fishermen on Long Island. Google Maps“That’s not uncommon in any way,” he said about fishing in the park.
“But obviously catching a shark and getting bit is a little more uncommon.”
It’s unclear what happened to the shark after it bit the man, officials said.
