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10-year-old boy loses part of leg in shark attack while snorkeling in Florida

MIAMI — A boy had to have part of his leg surgically amputated after he was attacked by a shark while swimming with his family in the water off the Florida Keys.

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Jameson Reeder Jr, 10, was on Looe Key Reef with his family on Saturday at around 4:30 p.m. when he was bitten by a shark, CNN reported.

In a Facebook post, Reeder’s uncle, Joshua Reeder, said that Jameson was with his parents, brothers and sister snorkeling along a shallow reef, when what the group believes was an 8-foot-long bull shark attacked the child below his knee. Joshua said the child was able to stay afloat on a noodle while calling for help. The family put a tourniquet on Jameson’s leg to stop the bleeding and called for help.

“We are thankful we are not going to a funeral,” Joshua told WPLG.

Joshua said in his Facebook post that surgeons at a Miami hospital had to amputate Jameson’s leg just below the knee, because the damage done by the shark was so extensive.

This is the second time a tourist has been attacked by a shark this summer in the Florida Keys. A Texas woman was bitten by a shark near Marvin Key and needed hours of reconstructive surgery to save her leg, as we reported at the time.

An online fundraiser for Jameson said it aims to “support this dear sweet family as they recover both physically and mentally from this traumatic experience.”