Though it was speculated that it may have been a Great White shark that killed kite surfer Stephen Howard Schafer earlier this week, examiners believe now that it was a shark from the requiem family, the Sun-Sentinel reported, which includes bull and tiger sharks.
Schafer, 38, was about a quarter mile offshore when he was attacked just after 4 p.m. on Wednesday, February 3rd, according to the Palm Beach Post.
Schafer was spotted by a lifeguard, floating about 500 yards from shore and clearly in distress. The guard paddled out to him on a rescue board, and found Schafer encircled by sharks in blood red water, screaming that he'd been bitten by the predators.
The lifeguard put Schafer on his board and paddled back to shore. Schafer had bite marks on his thigh and buttocks. He died a short time later at a nearby hospital.
"I just can't picture anyone, let alone a friend being circled by sharks here in Stuart, Florida," Teague Taylor, a longtime friend of Schafer's, told WPTV. "Doing something that he loves to do, doing something that he's done most of his life."
It was the first Florida shark attack death since 2005, and the first ever shark attack fatality recorded in Martin County.
