A 23-year-old unidentified woman was bitten on the arm by a 2-foot nurse shark Sunday afternoon. Photo taken by a lifeguard with Boca Raton Marine Safety and distribued by Boca Raton Fire Rescue

BOCA RATON, Fla., May 15 (UPI) -- A 23-year-old Florida woman bitten by a 2-foot nurse shark Sunday afternoon was taken to the hospital with it still attached to her arm, a fire rescue spokesman said.

A splint board was used to support the unidentified woman's arm and the shark as she lay on the stretcher and was placed into an ambulance at Red Reef Park off the Atlantic Ocean, Ocean Rescue Capt. Clint Tracy said.


The shark was killed by a bystander before the fire department's arrival "but was still attached to her arm" when she arrived at Boca Regional Hospital in stable condition, fire rescue spokesman Robert Lemons said. She later was released from the hospital, Lemons told UPI.

Several people nearby said the woman and her friends were antagonizing the shark.

Nate Pachter, 11, told the South Florida Sun Sentinel that he and his cousin were snorkeling when he saw a group "holding the shark by its tail. They were messing with it."

Nurse sharks are common in offshore Florida waters and can grow up to 14 feet in length.

In April, a 7-foot bull shark bit a diver's arm while diving off Singer Island, 35 miles to the north of Boca Raton.