Shark attacks 12-year-old boy in Florida

A 12-year-old boy was treated for puncture wounds after a shark bit him on the ankle.

Photo: Shark attacks 12-year-old boy in Florida

Matthew Honyak told authorities he saw the mouth of the shark when it bit him Sunday, the St. Lucie County Sheriff's Office said in a statement.

Lifeguards sounded an alarm and rushed to help after an unidentified man yelled "Shark bite!" Matthew was treated at a hospital and discharged later Sunday, according to hospital records.

It was the fourth shark attack in six weeks off Hutchinson Island, along Florida's east coast.

A 29-year-old surfer was bitten on his right hand March 11 and required two hours of surgery. During a one-hour period on March 31, a 9-year-old boy was bitten on the leg and buttock and a 30-year-old man was bitten on the ankle.

Last year, 23 shark attacks were recorded in Florida, maintaining the state's position as the world's shark attack capital, according to a University of Florida study. The state's last recorded fatal shark attack was in 2005.