Teen bitten by shark at Hanna Park in Jacksonville

A teenager is recovering from surgery after being bitten by a shark Friday at Hanna Park.

PHOTOS: Teen bitten by shark at Hanna Park

The boy, 17-year-old Keanan Perry of Jacksonville, had a bite to the leg. The incident reportedly happened by the Mayport poles.

The park, which has nearly two miles of beach access, was expected to be crowded due to the holiday weekend.

Kevin Rowland rushed to help Keanan after he was bitten.

"I immediately took a towel and got him out of the water and got him propped up and tried to calm him down," Rowland said.

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Rowland said Keanan just didn't see the shark.

"He was just coming in off the beach and hit him in less than two feet of water," Rowland said. "He was on his board cruising in the shallow water."

Keanan appeared to be in good spirits in social media videos shared with Action News Jax.

Action News Jax's Larry Spruill was the first local reporter to speak to Keanan over FaceTime from his hospital bed. Keanan said everything happened so fast.

"I was honestly calm. It hit and I was like, 'that was weird,' like 'what just happened,' and I looked and saw three gashes on the back of my heel and I immediately knew that I got bit," Keanan said.

Keanan said doctors soaked his foot to help control the bleeding.

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"They're saying, it's like three inches deep in the back and a lot of stitches. They say it looks like it might have got to my Achilles tendon, but I can still move my foot, so they don't think it's totally gone," Keanan said.

Keanan said the pain and the pressure of the bite was intense.

"Pressure-wise, it was a 9, like, when it happened, it felt like my foot was being ran over by a car. That's when I really realized what it was," Keanan said.

Keanan thanks those who helped him, including Rowland.

"Thanks to everybody. The ladies giving me water, the fisherman, he wrapped it up and had all of the service guys over there. The fisherman was keeping pressure on it, props to that guy," Keanan said.

The bite is the second in the area in recent days. A woman from Palatka suffered serious bites when a shark clamped down on her leg at St. Augustine Beach. She needed 30 stitches to close wounds on her foot.

Sharks have been spotted all along the Atlantic coach of Florida. A group of divers from Fernandina Beach got a rare up-close look at a whale shark on Sunday.

Cox Media Group