Off-duty police officer saves boy from shark

Police Officer Adrian Kosicki and his wife were on a walk when they noticed a shark approaching a young boy in shallow waters in Florida, United States. While other bystanders verbally tried to warn the boy, the off-duty police officer acted swiftly. He jumped into the water and dragged the child out before the shark could reach him. Beach-goers captured the valiant rescue by the policeman on video.

Cocoa Beach Police and Fire department shared the actions of their brave officer on Facebook. In the video, Kosicki can be seen wading towards a young boy on a boogie board. At the same time, the trademark fins of a shark can be seen cutting through the water. The panicked man is seen pulling the boy out of the water. In the commotion, it is not clear in which direction the shark swam off.

Before the bystander started recording the video, the off-duty officer was reportedly enjoying a walk with his wife near the pier at Cocoa Beach, Brevard County on Thursday, July 16. Beach-goers noticed the shark and started shouting at the boy to get out of the water. However, without the help of Kosicki, the boy may not have been able to get out of the shark's way as it came within a few feet of the unnamed child.

On their Facebook page, the police wrote "We're certainly not marine biologists, educated and trained to differentiate between the various species of sharks, their respective feeding habits, and aggressiveness near swimmers. We just do what we do best—protect the public from harm."

From the video it is hard to tell the kind of shark that was involved in the incident. The shark's fins seemed to be white-tipped. There are multiple species of white-tipped sharks.

According to Brevard Times, more shark attacks in Florida occur between July and October.

Volusia County, where Daytona Beach and New Smyrna Beach are located, records the highest number of shark attacks in Florida. New Smyrna Beach is known as the shark bite capital of the world. Brevard County, where the video was recorded, has the second-highest number of shark attacks in Florida.