He’s still hanging 10 — barely.
A fearless 15-year-old whose foot was chomped by a shark in a spate of suspected attacks on Long Island this week said Tuesday the attack won’t stop him from getting back on his board.
“[I’m] very excited to go back and start shredding again,” Peter Banculli, of North Babylon, told Long Island’s News 12.
Banculli was riding the waves with a friend near Fire Island at around 5:30 p.m. Monday when the man-eater bit his left heel and toes — prompting him to paddle for his life to shore, he said.
“My first reaction to when the shark grabbed my foot was to immediately get out the water … and get help,” he told the station.
Banculli’s friend, Joe, and a good Samaritan helped him until first responders arrived at Kismet Beach, and he was rushed to a hospital emergency room, he said.
“I didn’t believe it at first and then my reaction was pure panic,” his mom, Kelly, told the station. “I needed to get to him right away.”
“I’m really proud of him and he’s super brave,” she added.
Banculli, who’s been using a knee scooter to get around with his injured foot, said he plans to surf again as soon as he’s healed — while keeping a closer eye on what might be lurking below the surface.
He’s grateful his injury wasn’t more gnarly.
“Thank you to the good Samaritans on the beach that helped me, thank you to all the people in the hospital and the ER for me, yeah, the lifeguards, my mom, my dad, thank you,” he said.
A total of 15 of members of Saltaire Ambulance department helped treat and transport Banculli to the hospital, Newsday reported.
On Monday, a teenage girl was also possibly attacked by a shark in the waters at Robert Moses State Park, just about three miles from Kismet Beach, according to officials and a report.
On July 4th, two more people were bitten by sharks in the waters off Long Island — including a 47-year-old man whose right knee was chomped near Quogue Village Beach in the Hamptons at 2 p.m., Quogue police said.
Shortly after, a 49-year-old man reported that a shark sunk its teeth into his hand at Fire Island Pines Beach, roughly six miles from where Banculli was attacked.
Park officials said a school of about 50 sand sharks spotted off the shores of Robert Moses forced the beach’s closure on Tuesday morning around 8 a.m., when lifeguards come on duty.
The sharks, also known as sand tiger sharks, were monitored by surveillance drones before the beach was reopened at around 9:30 a.m.
“Sand sharks are very common off of Long Island,” Long Island Parks Regional Director George Gorman said. He noted that the large school was not something out of the ordinary, but that “individuals are more common.”
Last July, more than half a dozen people were bitten by sharks on Long Island in just three weeks, including surfers.
One of the victims, 16-year-old Max Haynes, was chomped on the foot and described the sensation as feeling “like a bear trap.”
He suffered a four-inch wound on his right foot.
