Splash!
Great White Attack in Kona?
At twilight on Saturday, December 5, Hawai‘i Fire Department (HFD) rescue arrived at Banyan’s surf spot off Ali‘i Drive in Kona. A 38-year-old Kona man known as Jahred had been viciously attacked by what he claimed was a great white shark.
“Upon arrival, the victim was out of the water with a tourniquet already applied. He was conscious and ambulatory at the scene,” HFD rescue told West Hawai‘i Today. He was taken to Kona Community Hospital for surgery. Refusing interviews, he did tell media that he believed the shark was a great white.
Beach Grit, a surf website describing itself as “ultra-hard surf candy,” posted an Instagram video of the attack. Beach Grit then cited a commentor who wrote that the shark “grabbed him by the arm and pulled him under, and when it pulled him under it whipped around and hit him in the face with its tail. Broke his nose and his jaw and knocked his teeth out.”
Eight days earlier, a great white was filmed off Kona by award-winning outdoor photographer and free-diver Deron Verbeck, who posted his encounter on Facebook. “Ok, here’s the unedited version of my vid that has already been circulating,” Deron posted on his viral Facebook post, “but I figured some of you may not be able to see it. I was out to shoot some other type of fish in super slo-mo, so I had the GoPro set to
