Fatal shark attack in Auckland – Cop shoots shark

Shortly before 2pm today, a fatal shark attack went down at Muriwai, a beach on Auckland, New Zealand’s west coast. A witness spotted a lone male swimmer signalling to shore before being pulled underwater. He did not survive. Witnesses reported that they saw up to four sharks in the area shortly following the attack. A policeman then entered the water on a lifeguard boat and fired 20 bullets into one of the sharks, killing it. The swimmer’s body has been brought to shore but the dead shark is, at this point, yet to be brought in. “Shark attack just happened here in New Zealand,” wrote Keith Malloy on social media. “We had just come in from bodysurfing and a local went out by himself just after us. 10 minutes later a big shark got him, poor guy didn’t make it.” Earlier this week, a local man had run out of the water, saying that he’d spotted a great white. No one believed him, and the 60-odd people swimming stayed in the water. Stab‘s local source said there’s a little Island out the back of Maori Bay (Muriwai), which has a huge ocean floor crater where quite a few seals hang out. Fishermen have been telling stories of a large great white that’s been hanging out there over Summer. More info here.