Dempsey Manhart was attending junior lifeguard training camp at a Volusia County Beach when he was bitten
A teen found himself in a dangerous situation when he was bitten by a shark at a local Florida beach.
Dempsey Manhart, 14, was attending junior lifeguard training camp at a Volusia County Beach when he was was attacked by a shark in Ponce Inlet on Monday, July 8, according to local Fox affiliate WOFL.
The attack took place at approximately 11:15 a.m. local time, a spokesperson for Volusia County Beach Safety Ocean Rescue tells PEOPLE.
The teen, who was from Flagler County, was “entering the water when he was bit on the right calf,” the spokesperson said, noting that witnesses observed “he was diving into the water when he landed on the shark,” which is when he was bitten.
“The boy was treated on scene and released to a custodian where he was taken POV to the hospital with non-life-threatening lacerations,” the spokesperson adds.
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Manhart opened up about the scary incident, telling WOFL that he initially thought he had struck another person in the water.
“I dove onto it, and I hit the shark. I hit it with my hands, and then I stood up, and it spun around and was like underneath my legs. And I think it bit me then, when it was wrapped around my feet,” he said. “When it came under my feet, I was like hitting it, and then it swam away.”
According to witnesses who spoke with CBS affiliate WKMG, the shark was described as being four to five feet long.
The shark bite to his calf, resulted in the teen needing 17 stitches.
Paul Hennessy/NurPhoto via Getty
Beach in Ponce Inlet, Florida
As for the future, the teen said he isn’t afraid to get back in the water again.
“If it’s happened once, I doubt it’s going to happen again. So,I don’t think there’s really anything to be scared of,” the teen told WOFL.
The Volusia County Junior Lifeguard Program, which started in 1990, specializes in “education in water safety, lifesaving techniques and beach ecology…dedicated to providing our participants with the best instruction possible so that one day they can be confident and efficient lifeguards,” according to the program’s website.
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