Victim suffers injury to foot from possible shark attack at Hobe Sound Public Beach

HOBE SOUND, Fla. - Just before the lifeguards finished their shift from the lookout post at Hobe Sound Beach, the normally-peaceful spot may have turned into a site of a shark attack.

Hobe Sound resident Joseph Rush said around 5:00 p.m., he heard from other beach-goers someone was bitten by a shark.

"We see some commotion going down on the beach, and somebody said 'shark.' I wanted to kind of get some photos of it, maybe put it on YouTube," he said.

Rush said he saw the victim's toe was bandaged, and the victim, a male, was able to limp to the ambulance.

"You see sharks do more damage than that, and usually you'd be coming up on a stretcher," said Rush.

As an experienced body-boarder and self-proclaimed "beach bum," Rush does admit the possibility of the bite being from a small shark. He said it's the time of year for blacktip reef sharks to feed in this area.

"I have seen sharks the last two or three weeks," reflected Rush. "They have been coming through here and they have been putting the shark flag up."

For Hobe Sound beach-lovers, he has some words of caution:

"If you see the bait coming through, get out of the water, do not be swimming around in that because that's where they're feeding," he said.

Martin County officials have not confirmed if it was a shark, or a different marine animal.