TOP SECRET ANIMAL ATTACK FILES
from The
Washington Post
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Two
Hurt in Apparent Shark Attack
Friday, June 9, 2000; 1:44 p.m. EDT The Associated Press GULF SHORES, Ala. –– Two swimmers were attacked Friday morning in the Gulf of Mexico, apparently by a shark, and one may lose his arm as a result. Police closed a mile-long segment of beach until further notice after Chuck Anderson, a vice principal and coach at Robertsdale High School, and Richard Whatley, a barber, were bitten between 7:30 and 8 a.m. George Burgess of the International Shark Attack File at the University of Florida said that the attack was the first in the Gulf this year and the first in Alabama waters in nearly 25 years. Anderson was in serious condition and Whatley was in stable condition at South Baldwin Regional Medical Center in Foley. Both men were in surgery, spokeswoman Donna McFarland said. Anderson will likely lose an arm as a result of the attack, she said. Whatley had puncture wounds. It wasn't immediately known what kind of shark attacked the men. Bob Shipp, chairman of the marine science department at the University of South Alabama in Mobile, said it could have been a bull shark. The shark is known to frequent warm Gulf waters during summer months, he said. © Copyright 2000 The Associated Press |
