By: Staff Writer
August 30, 2024
The headless body of a teenager from Trelawny was the victim of a shark attack authorities have said.
The body of 16-year-old Jahmari Reid was found by Fishermen on Tuesday, the day after he left on a spearfishing expedition.
Local media reported he had been decapitated with one of his arms bitten off, and that efforts to kill the shark and recover the severed head are ongoing.
Jahmari’s father Michael Reid told the Jamaica Observer: “I can’t believe that he went to sea by himself and that was the outcome. Sad to know. I feel so bad.”
Christopher Reynolds, one of the bewildered fishers, sat on the beach staring blankly. He disclosed that the remains of the young Jahmari had been retrieved from the water by a group of divers who had gone in search of him on Tuesday morning.
He said he was informed that a massive tiger shark was spotted in the water by the divers who located the body, shortly after they recovered the detached arm.
“All of the fisherman went out there and, while they were diving to take him up, they saw the big shark. They shot at him but they didn’t get him,” Reynolds said.
Shark attacks are rare, with a total of 69 confirmed unprovoked attacks worldwide and 14 fatalities reported last year, according to the Florida-based International Shark Attack File.
Since 1749, only three unprovoked shark attacks have been reported in Jamaica, according to the International Shark Attack File, which is administered by the Florida Museum of Natural History and the American Elasmobranch Society.
Shark attacks are rare, with a total of 69 confirmed unprovoked attacks worldwide and 14 fatalities reported last year, according to the file. The report noted that a “disproportionate” amount of people died from shark bites in Australia last year when compared with other countries, and Australia accounted for about 22% of the world’s unprovoked shark attacks in 2023.
