A rare shark attack over the weekend sent a Longboat Key man to the hospital. Authorities say 21-year-old Charles Wickersham was spear fishing off the coast with friends when he was bitten by what appeared to be a bull shark off Anna Maria Island. Wickersham was severely injured in the thigh and flown by helicopter for treatment. The injury not reportedly life-threatening. It’s rare because Sarasota County has seen on seven unprovoked shark attacks since 1882 – Manatee County only five in all that time.
