Florida Surfer Bitten on Foot By Shark

Man says he fought off shark that bit him in the foot while surfing at Cocoa Beach.

A surfer was hospitalized after he was bitten on the foot by a shark at Cocoa Beach Tuesday.

Bobby Baughman said he had been surfing for over two hours when he suddenly felt a sharp pain in his foot, according to WESH.

"I just felt wham, something just grabbed me," he said. "It just went straight back down underwater, I know that they tell you you're supposed to like hit them in the gills or punch him in the nose, but I wasn't really thinking, I was just scared and needed to get this thing off of me so I just grabbed him like up around the snout and squeezed like as hard as I could."

Baughman, who is in his 20s, said it worked and the shark swam away. A lifeguard helped him to shore, and he was taken to a nearby hospital, where he found out he would need surgery for torn ligaments in his foot.

"I was hoping I was just going to get stitches and get to go home," he said.

The chief lifeguard described it as a "pretty bad bite." The beach was closed for about 30 minutes.

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