Shark Bites 12-Year-Old Boy Along Florida Coast

HUTCHINSON ISLAND, Fla. – A 12-year-old boy was treated for puncture wounds after a shark bit him on the ankle, authorities said.

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.