MONROE COUNTY, Fla. – Calls to 911 after a boy was bitten by a shark in the Florida Keys over the weekend were released Tuesday afternoon.
“We have a shark bite out here at Looe Key off of Ramrod Key,” one caller is heard telling a dispatcher.
Another caller described the scene. “They ran aground over the reef, panicking. So they can’t run their boat in,” she said.
In minutes, a Good Samaritan in a 36-foot boat started heading to shore with 10-year-old Jameson Reeder onboard.
Family said he was snorkeling in shallow water when he was bitten by what they believe was an 8-foot bull shark.
“We can see the bone. It’s a pretty big bite...he’s conscious right now...he’s still breathing,” the Good Samaritan said in the 911 call. “We’ve already put a tourniquet around his legs and we’re wrapping towels around it.”
Reeder was rushed to shore and airlifted to Nicklaus Children’s Hospital, where family said his leg was amputated below the knee to save his life.
They said he is out of surgery and resting with family by his side.