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7-year-old boy undergoes surgery after shark bite in Fort Lauderdale Beach

A young boy has been hospitalized after suffering a shark bite in Fort Lauderdale.

The seven-year-old was visiting Fort Lauderdale Beach with his cousins on Thursday when he was attacked.

The boy’s mother, Grace Sosa, said the boy saw a school of fish nearby. Suddenly, he saw what he thought was a big brown fish. The fish then chomped on his right hand.

His family took him to the lifeguard stand who helped him to wrap his hand. Lifeguards inspected the wound and confirmed it was a shark bite.

His hand and arm were completely torn apart, according to the boy’s mother.

Sosa sent a warning to other parents.

“It was a big brown fish coming up to him, bit his hand, took a chunk of tissue and left. Left him all bitten,” she said. “I just want him to be able to move his hand. We’re very blessed that his hand is still attached, and it’s very emotional because it’s a right hand. He writes, he goes to school. We’re going to have to put a stop, everything’s going to be paused. We don’t know what’s going to happen, if he’s going to be able to do this. I don’t know.”

The young boy said he is traumatized and never wants to go back to the beach.

Sosa said the shark bit through her son’s tendons. He had to undergo reconstructive surgery at Broward Health Medical Center on Friday.

There have been several shark bites in the last few weeks across South Florida, including a nine-year-old boy who was bitten on South Beach last week.

Experts said we are in the middle of one of the world’s largest shark migrations and at any given moment, there could be thousands of sharks in the water.

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