SURFSIDE, Texas, June 18 (UPI) -- A 15-year-old boy was in stable condition Tuesday, the day after being attacked by a shark in shallow water at a beach near Surfside, Texas, authorities said.
Freeport police said the Needville teenager was bitten by a 4-foot shark on his left leg and hand while in waist-deep water about 2:45 p.m. Monday at a beach about 3 miles north of Surfside, KTRK-TV, Houston, reported.
"I hope this teenager grows up to be a cop and gets my back," said Zuandra Monnat, an emergency medical technician who happened to be at the beach and helped bandage up his wounds before he was airlifted to a hospital. "He fought off this shark. It bit his leg and he literally tore this shark off of him and that's how he got the lacerations to his hands."
Surfside Assistant Police Chief Gregg Bisso said the teen, who was with a church group, was in stable condition at Memorial Hermann-Texas Medical Center in Houston with non-life-threatening injuries, CNN reported.
Authorities said it was the first shark attack reported at Surfside beach in more than a couple decades, KTRK said.
It wasn't known what type of shark attacked the boy.
