Woman bitten by possible sand tiger shark at New York’s Jones Beach

A woman was bitten by what officials suspect was a juvenile sand tiger shark while she swam at Jones Beach State Park in New York this week.

New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation said in a release Friday that the unnamed 20-year-old victim was wading waist-deep in the water at around 4:15 p.m. Wednesday when she was attacked.

She suffered “minor lacerations to her left foot and leg,” which were not life-threatening, OPRHP said, and she was taken to the hospital for treatment.

The woman said she didn’t see what type of animal attacked her. Swimming was suspended and park staff and lifeguards searched the water to try and find the wildlife responsible, but couldn’t.

The New York Department of Environmental Conservation believes that a juvenile tiger shark — a slow-moving coastal predator — bit the woman, OPRHP said.

The attack was the first of the season at a New York state park beach, OPRHP Regional Director George Gorman told The New York Times.