The man killed by a shark attack in Cape Cod on Saturday has been identified as 26-year-old Arthur Medici, according to multiple reports.
Friends described Medici as sweet and humble, ABC affiliate WCVB reported, adding that he enjoyed surfing and had come to the beach with his girlfriend’s brother. Medici was boogie boarding when the shark attacked, according to MassLive, leading to the first shark attack fatality in Massachusetts in eight decades.
Medici grew up in Brazil and moved to the U.S. for college two years ago, according to WCVB. His Facebook page listed him as an employee of The Capital Grille in Burlington, Massachusetts, a student at Bunker Hill Community College and a resident of Revere, Massachusetts.
The Facebook page said that he had been in a relationship since December 2016.
Cape and Islands Assistant District Attorney Tara Miltimore confirmed Medici’s identity, the Associated Press reported.
The attack occurred around noon near Newcomb Hollow Beach in Wellfleet, according to the Wellfleet Police Department’s Facebook post. Medici was given CPR after he was pulled out of the water and the Wellfleet Fire Department then took him to Cape Cod Hospital, where he died.
People stand on the beach after the shark attack
“The Town of Wellfleet is heartbroken by this tragedy,” town administrator Dan Hoort and Wellfleet Selectboard chair Janet Reinhart said in a statement.
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“We send our sympathies to his family and the friends of this young man,” the statement continued. “We share the grief and pain you feel. We are grateful to the family, friends, beach staff, public and first responders who worked so valiantly to save his life. Everyone who lives in and visits Wellfleet is part of the Wellfleet community. Today we lost a member of our community and we grieve his passing.”
Rep. Bill Keating tweeted, “First and foremost, Tevis and I send our condolences to the family of Arthur Medici, the victim of yesterday’s shark attack. Going forward, I will be convening meetings w/the National Park Service and coordinating w/state and local officials on how best to address this issue.”
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Joe Booth, a local fisherman who witnessed the attack, described it as reminiscent of the shark attack thriller Jaws to the AP.
“I was that guy on the beach screaming, ‘Shark, shark!’” Booth recalled. “It was like right out of that movie Jaws. This has turned into Amity Island real quick out here.”
In August, a 61-year-old New York man fought off a shark in Truro, Massachusetts, the AP reported. He is recovering from serious injuries in a Boston hospital.
The last fatal shark attack in Massachusetts killed 16-year-old Joseph Troy Jr. on July 25, 1936, according to the AP.
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