Express & Star

Tributes to man who was killed in shark attack off Cape Cod beach

Arthur Medici is the first to die in the US state of Massachusetts from shark-related injuries in 80 years.

Published
Shark Attack Cape Cod

A 26-year-old man who was killed in a shark attack off a Cape Cod beach had been a part-time engineering student who was engaged to be married and loved surfing and other outdoor activities.

Arthur Medici, of Revere, Massachusetts, was bitten by a shark on Saturday while boogie boarding off Newcomb Hollow Beach in Wellfleet and later died at a hospital.

He was the state’s first shark attack fatality in more than 80 years and the second attack victim this summer on Cape Cod.

The beach remained closed to swimming on Sunday.

Flowers were placed at the base of a sign that said “No swimming surfing etc. until further notice”, but some people were paddleboarding in the water, the Boston Herald reported.

Shark Attack-Cape Cod
Two signs at the top of the dune at Newcomb Hollow Beach (Merrily Cassidy?AP)

A shark was spotted several miles south of Wellfleet on Sunday, according to the Atlantic White Shark Conservancy.

Mr Medici was a part-time engineering student at Bunker Hill Community College in Boston last spring, the school said in a statement on Sunday.

It did not provide any other information about his studies and the school offered condolences to Medici’s family and friends.

He moved to the US from Brazil two years ago to attend college, friends told WCVB-TV.

A GoFundMe page set up by family and friends to cover funeral costs had raised more than 16,000 US dollars as of Sunday afternoon.

“Arthur was a very happy young man,” said a posting on the page.

“He loved life, he was an active member of a Christian church, devoting his life to the Lord. … He loved hiking, biking, surfing and various other sports. …

“He was always joyful and willing to help others, even going as far as feeding the homeless.

“He was happily engaged to a smart, kind-hearted medical student with a bright future,” it continued.

“Our lives are never going to be the same without him. His laughter filled our home and he will be greatly missed by us all.”

Shark Attack-Cape Cod
Cape Cod National Seashore Park Ranger Eric Trudeau walks up to a group of visitors (Merrily Cassidy/AP)

There also was an outpouring of condolences on his Facebook page.

Mr Medici had worked at The Capital Grille restaurant in Burlington, just outside of Boston, and left the job more than a year ago, restaurant spokesman Rich Jeffers said.

“Just like everybody else, we’re shocked and saddened,” he said. “It’s just terrible.”

Mr Medici was attacked around noon as he and a friend were boogie boarding.

Shark attack
Police and rescue vehicles at Newcomb Hollow Beach (Steve Heaslip/The Cape Cod Times via AP)

The friend dragged him ashore, and people on the beach attempted life-saving measures including CPR and applying tourniquets. He was taken to Cape Cod Hospital in Hyannis, where he was pronounced dead.

On August 15, a 61-year-old New York man was severely injured after fighting off a shark off Truro, about four miles north of Saturday’s attack.

He is currently recovering in a Boston hospital.

Saturday’s attack was the third fatal shark attack in the world this year, with the other two occurring in Brazil and Egypt, according to Gavin Naylor, director of the Florida Programme for Shark Research and curator at the Florida Museum of Natural History.

There have been 39 confirmed unprovoked shark bites worldwide this year, including 22 in the US, most of them on the East Coast, Mr Naylor said.

Sorry, we are not accepting comments on this article.