2 Children Suffer Bites, Possibly From Shark, Off Fire Island

Two children were bitten in waters off New York’s Fire Island in possible shark attacks, prompting beach closings.

Newsday reports that police are investigating the incidents Wednesday off Sailors Haven and Atlantique beaches.

Town of Islip spokeswoman Caroline Smith says that a 13-year-old boy was treated at a hospital for a bite on his leg. And a spokeswoman for Fire Island National Seashore, which runs Sailors Haven beach, says that a 12-year-old girl suffered bite marks “consistent with a large fish” while wading, but it wasn’t immediately confirmed to be a shark.

Philip Pollina says he and his wife heard their daughter Lola scream, then she emerged with a bloody leg.

Pollina says lifeguards initially thought a Portuguese man-of-war had stung her, but then concluded that there were “teeth marks.”