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Teen bitten by shark while surfing in Fort Pierce

Posted at 10:40 PM, Dec 28, 2016
and last updated 2016-12-29 06:21:08-05

A Fort Pierce teenager is out of the hospital after being bitten by a shark Tuesday.

"I have a big one right here, which is like pretty deep," 16-year-old Zack Davis says pointing to his wounds on his right forearm. "I got a pretty good sized one right here."

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The avid surfer was catching waves at Avalon Park Beach Tuesday afternoon.

"I was on a wave and one part of the wave closed out and like that took me underwater I got hit right here by a shark," he says. "It held on for two or three seconds."

He used his surfboard cord as a temporary tourniquet and ran to his nearby home to get help from his mom.

"I just said like, before I show you this, don't freak out or anything but like I got bit by a shark," he remembers telling her.

He was rushed to Lawnwood Medical Center in an ambulance.  Just before 5 p.m. Wednesday he was released under his own power and shirtless, just as he came in.

We asked, "When do you expect to get back on the water?"

He replied, "As soon as I can, honestly ... I'll do it as soon as I'm allowed."

It'll be a while before that happens. He says the stitches have about 10-12 days left and then it has to heal. Pain wise, on a one to 10 scale, he says he's at six. 

He also says he was wearing a shark repellent wristband for the very first time when this happened.