Boy, 10, has leg amputated under the knee after being savaged by 8ft bull SHARK off Florida Keys

A 10-year-old boy has been attacked by an 8ft bull shark while snorkeling on a noddle off the Florida Keys, requiring his leg to be amputated below his knee in a life-saving surgery.

Jameson Reeder Jr was bitten by the shark on Saturday afternoon at around 4pm while observing the Looe Key reef, about five miles offshore, along with his mother, father, two brothers and sister, his uncle shared in an extensive Facebook post. 

‘They were out on a boat snorkeling along a shallow reef when a very traumatic event occurred and my nephew Jameson jr. was attacked by what they believe to be an 8ft Bull Shark on his leg and took a crushing blow below his knee,’ Joshua Reeder wrote on Sunday. 

‘They had to remove/amputate from just below the knee to save his life as it was not operable from the damage the shark had caused. They said the shark made the decision for him and wasn’t anything they could do to save it,’ Reeder’s post further read. ‘But his life was spared. Thank you Yeshua/Jesus!!!’ 

Jameson Jr was rushed back onto the boat his family was on, before relatives flagged down another boat nearby with a nurse on it at around 4.30pm, half an hour after the attack. 

A tourniquet was wrapped around the boy’s wounds to stop the bleeding as he was rushed to shore. He was then rushed to Nicklaujs Children’s Hospital in Miami via helicopter. 

‘The entire time Jameson jr. was being cared for on the way to and at the hospital he was sharing his faith and asking if others knew Jesus,’ the young victim’s uncle wrote on Facebook. 

‘If you know my brother Jameson this is how he has always operated and has a son Jameson jr. who is just like him always sharing his faith and wanting others to know the gift of eternal salvation and the love and forgiveness Jesus offers to us.’ 

‘He is now out of surgery and resting and has now had the news of what all took place. But yet he is still strong and in good spirits and will love and tell of this great story to millions of people all over the world of how Jesus spared his life and saved him,’ Reeder’s post added.

A GiveSendGo (GSG) fundraising page put together by the young victim’s uncle is nearing its $50,000 goal, as more than $46,000 were donated towards Jameson Jr’s medical expenses as of Thursday night. 

‘Jameson is an amazingly strong young man,’ the funraiser’s description reads. 

‘He was able to get his family’s attention and hang on to a noodle float until the boat could get to him. God was watching out for him and has been in every detail. They could have lost their sweet boy, but Jameson knew Jesus was with him,’ it added. 

Jameson Jr’s ‘fearless faith in God carried him through,’ the fundraiser conclucded.

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission has not yet provided a statement referring to the attack, but did confirm it with the Miami Herald. 

DailyMail.com has contacted the state agency, which is in charge of monitoring water activity, for further comment. 

Saturday’s attack was the fourth shark-related incident in the Florida Keys since April. A 13-year-old boy chomped in the face and a teenage girl are among the victims in the Sunshine State just this summer.

The state’s ‘shark bite capital of the world’ Volusia County, which is home to Daytona Beach, has seen a half dozen attacks just this year. 

Beach officials have said visitors should make sure to swim near a lifeguard and also advises to not swim alone.