A swimmer at Jones Beach State Park on Long Island was bitten on the foot on Friday, marking the second day of shark incidents across the region as temperatures reached 100 degrees and sent thousands of beachgoers into the water seeking relief from an oppressive heat wave. The bite occurred at Field 6 around noon, and the victim was transported to Nassau University Medical Center. Authorities said the injuries were minor and non-life-threatening.
The incident came just hours after multiple shark sightings forced temporary closures at beaches in both Queens and Nassau County on Thursday. At Point Lookout in Hempstead, lifeguards spotted a 9-foot shark about 45 yards offshore in the morning, prompting an immediate red-flag warning that closed the beach and adjacent areas to swimmers. The shark was confirmed by lifeguards and multiple beachgoers who had a close view of the animal. “Like some shadow in the water, kinda charging at us, he turned like four feet away, I saw a full body of a shark,” said surfer Brendan Halpin, who was out in the water when the shark appeared. Lifeguard Eamon Flynn said the sighting was unmistakable. “There’s no mistaking that was a shark,” he said.
The Town of Hempstead deployed its Shark Patrol with drones and jet skis to monitor the area, following standard protocol that calls for a one-hour closure of beaches within a mile in each direction of a sighting. By late afternoon, Nassau County beaches had reopened after no additional sharks were spotted.
Meanwhile, across the water in Queens, New York City officials issued an alert just before 1 p.m. Thursday warning of multiple shark sightings at Rockaway Beach. Observers confirmed at least several bull sharks swimming in the area, and some sections of the beach remained closed intermittently throughout the afternoon. One drone captured an image showing two sharks swimming together off the Queens coastline. The shark activity continued Friday morning, with additional sightings reported around 10:30 a.m., forcing new temporary closures at parts of Rockaway Beach.
The timing of the shark activity coincided with the region’s most extreme heat conditions in over a decade. Central Park hit 100 degrees Fahrenheit for the first time since 2012, and temperatures across the tri-state area approached and exceeded 101 degrees with heat index values climbing above 105 degrees. The record-breaking heat, combined with the start of Fourth of July weekend, drew record crowds to the beaches, even as shark warnings and closures complicated swimmers’ plans.
The shark incidents on Thursday and Friday marked a return of a pattern that officials have been monitoring and preparing for since last summer, when a woman was bitten by a shark at Jones Beach in June 2025. That incident prompted authorities to beef up shark patrols at Long Island beaches and invest in additional drone surveillance technology. Experts say the presence of sharks in these waters, while concerning, is part of a natural phenomenon tied to warming ocean temperatures and improving water quality. Hempstead Town Supervisor Jon Ferretti emphasized that sharks are not naturally aggressive toward humans. “Safety always comes first. We will make sure we spot them, we identify them and when necessary close the beaches,” he said.
Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman urged swimmers to follow lifeguards’ instructions and only enter the water at guarded beaches. The New York State Office of Parks said that swimming restrictions implemented following Friday’s bite at Jones Beach were lifted after lifeguards conducted a thorough search and found no additional sharks for an hour. However, swimming was restricted to wading only, with swimmers prohibited from going deeper than waist-level water.
The shark sightings stretched resources as thousands of heat-weary residents sought beach relief during one of the hottest periods in recent memory, forcing difficult choices between escaping the oppressive heat and avoiding potential shark encounters.