While swimming in Del Mar, California with an open water swim group, 46-year-old Caleb Adams was attacked by a shark.
He describes “tussling” with it, punching it in its mouth, and suffering cuts on his hand and wrist as a result. His swimming buddy Kevin Barrett heard his cries for help and later said that once they got him back to the shore, “we could really see the traumatic extent of his injuries, and it was not pretty”.
California shark attack leaves victim with blood ‘pouring out of his chest’
On June 2, Caleb Adams says he “knew I had been hit by a shark” after he felt a “strong hit to his body”.
He’d been swimming off the shores of Del Mar, California, about 100 yards out to sea.
“I tussled with the animal for what was seconds,” he told NBC News. “The second time I struck the animal and I felt a softer tissue. I am going to speculate that that was inside the shark’s mouth. And I had several cuts on my hand and wrist.”
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Finally, he got it together to call out for help, using just two words, “shark” and “help”. His swimming buddy, Kevin Barrett, told the channel, “you know that’s a real scream”. By the time he arrived at Adams’ side, the shark was gone. Defeated? Maybe. But Adams likely came off worse.
“When I was swimming him in,” Barrett recalled, “the blood was just pouring out of his chest.” Once they got to the beach, they were able to see the “traumatic extent of his injuries. And it was not pretty.”
What happened next?
The city of Del Mar released a statement two days after the attack, which has since been updated. It says Adams suffered injuries to his torso, left arm and hand.
The “tussle” took place at 9 o’clock in the morning, a short swim out from the Beach Safety Center at 17th Street. After the accident, lifeguards closed the 2-mile stretch of sea to swimmers and surfers for 48 hours.
Adams spent some time in hospital, but was recovering at home by June 6.
Another member of his swimming group fleshed out the incident to NBC, describing the “gash” Adams had in his hand from striking the shark in the mouth.
“He punched it in the face. He punched it in the nose,” she said. “I do know he had a gash on his hand from a shark’s tooth.”
Champagne corks and lawnmowers kill more people than sharks
Unprovoked shark attacks are very rare, and let’s face it, no one’s out there provoking them. Sharks may be apex predators, but by nature they’re not predisposed to feed on humans.
In 2023, there were 36 in the US. One of them was fatal – in many cases, though not to be taken lightly, shark attacks are actually escapable.
In contrast, up to 50 people die in the US alone while riding jet skis. Roughly 100 Americans die each year due to hunting accidents. There are an average of 70 fatalities a year in the US because of lawnmower accidents.
And in France alone, 20+ people die every year from incidents involving champagne corks.
Yet, writes PETA, negative stereotypes surrounding sharks in the media portray them as a threat to humans. In actual fact, “it’s the other way around”.
“When you look at the numbers, it’s obvious that sharks are the ones who should be making horror films about us.”
