A 12-year-old boy was attacked by a shark while swimming in the Bahamas – National
A 12-year-old American boy was attacked by a shark this week while in the Bahamas, according to the Royal Bahamas Police Force.
In a news release, Bahamian police said the encounter happened Tuesday on Staniel Cay, Exuma, and “left a young man injured.”
“According to the first report, just before 3:30 p.m., police received information that a 12-year-old American boy was taken to New Providence by boat after being attacked by a shark,” police said.
The boy’s mother told police that while on a trip to the Exuma Cays, the boy was swimming with his brother when he was attacked by a shark.
“He received treatment for his injuries and was listed in stable condition,” police added.
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The Royal Bahamas Police Force has not released the boy’s identity or the type of shark involved in his encounter.
The University of Florida’s International Shark Attack File (ISAF) reports that the odds of being bitten by a shark are incredibly low. ISAF recommends that beach swimmers stay close to shore, avoid swimming at dawn or dusk and avoid excessive splashing.
ISAF investigated 105 alleged shark-human interactions worldwide in 2025, with a total of five cases originating in the Bahamas.
ISAF has confirmed 65 shark bites to humans and 29 provocation bites, which occur when a person first comes into contact with a shark in some way.
The 2025 global total of 65 confirmed unprovoked cases is in line with the latest five-year (2020 to 2024) average of 61 incidents per year, according to ISAF.
Earlier this year, research reported that sharks in the Bahamas tested positive for cocaine, caffeine and other substances.
According to the findings, published in the journal Environmental Pollution, drugs such as acetaminophen and sertraline, as well as caffeine, cocaine and other chemicals, were present in the systems of three types of sharks.
Known as CEC, or emerging pollutants of concern, these substances have been found to be more common in tourist areas.
Of the 85 sharks analyzed in the study, Caribbean reef sharks, Atlantic nurse sharks and lemon sharks were found to have varying levels of the painkillers diclofenac and acetaminophen in their bodies, as well as cocaine and caffeine.
The study also found that sharks that had eaten CECs “showed altered levels of triglycerides, urea, and lactate,” which may cause a “physiological response” to species found to contain contaminants.
—From files from Global News by Rachel Goodman
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