Authorities: Surfer, 14, bitten by shark in Florida waters

NEW SMYRNA BEACH, Fla. >> Authorities say a teenage surfer has been hospitalized after being bitten on the left hand by a shark off Florida’s coast.

The Volusia County Beach Patrol says the 14-year-old boy from Vero Beach was with four other surfers in Atlantic waters off New Smyrna Beach when he was bitten Sunday morning.

Capt. Aaron Jenkins, a patrol spokesman, told the Orlando Sentinel the boy suffered “significant lacerations” from what was described as a 4- or 5-foot blacktip shark. He says the boy punched the shark before returning to shore, where he was given aid by a beach safety officer before being taken to a hospital.

He says the attack occurred about 100 yards offshore. There was no further information on the boy’s identity or condition.