8-year-old boy bitten by shark while snorkeling in Florida, officials say
FOOTBALL PLAYER IS RECOVERING THIS MORNING. A FORMER SEMINOLE HIGH SCHOOL STAR AND FSU PLAYER WAS SHOT TODAY. WE’RE HEARING FROM HIS FAMILY. PLUS, IT IS DECISION DAY IN ORANGE COUNTY FOR TWO SPECIAL ELECTIONS, THE KEY RACES AND OPEN SEATS AS POLLING LOCATIONS ARE NOW OPEN. PLUS, WE WANT TO GRAB YOUR UMBRELLA. WE ARE TALKING ABOUT SOME COASTAL SHOWERS THIS MORNING AND THERE’S MORE RAIN ON THE WAY. HOW LONG WE’RE GOING TO BE DEALING WITH A SOGGY STRETCH. AND YOUR POWERBALL DREAMS ARE STILL ALIVE. NO WINNER IN LAST NIGHT’S BILLION-DOLLAR DRAWING. WE SHOW YOU THE NUMBERS. AND WHO WOKE UP A MILLIONAIRE RIGHT HERE IN FLORIDA. SUNRISE ON CW 18 STARTS RIGHT NOW. GOOD MORNING. ON THIS TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 2ND. THANKS FOR STARTING IT WITH YOUR SUNRISE TEAM HERE AT 8:00 AM JASON GUY AND I’M MEREDITH MCDONOUGH. LOTS TO GET TO THIS MORNING. FIRST WARNING METEOROLOGIST KELLIANNE KLASS WILL HAVE A CHECK OF THOSE TEMPERATURES AND SOME SHOWERS IN JUST A MOMENT. LET’S BEGIN THOUGH, WITH TRAFFIC EXPERT MEAGHAN MACKEY. MEGAN, I KNOW YOU’RE FOLLOWING A CRASH EARLIER TODAY, BUT. AND IT’S REALLY, THOUGH STILL LEADING TO A BIG BACKUP. YEAH, ALL THOSE LANES ARE BACK OPEN. HARD TO BELIEVE, THOUGH. LOOKING AT THIS CAMERA. THE CRASH ITSELF WAS RIGHT NEAR MILL. SO JUST BEFORE YOU GET TO I-4. BUT WESTBOUND BACKING UP PAST GOLDENROD. SO STILL THIS MORNING, HEADING OUT THE DOOR ALONG STATE ROAD FOUR WAYNE, IT’S PROBABLY BEST TO AVOID THOSE WESTBOUND LANES, BUT WE’LL CONTINUE TO MONITOR THIS CRASH. OF COURSE, IT IS THE FIRST DAY BACK TO SCHOOL AND WORK FOR MANY PEOPLE AFTER THE LONG WEEKEND. KELLIANNE HOPEFULLY A DRIER FORECAST IN STORE, ESPECIALLY FOR INLAND SPOTS. OUR COASTLINE. WE’RE TRACKING A COUPLE OF SHOWERS, BUT IT’S NOT AN ALL DAY WASHOUT. ALTHOUGH IF YOU DO HAVE SOME BEACH PLANS, JUST KEEP IN MIND NOT THE BEST BEACH DAY BECAUSE WE’RE GOING TO HAVE GUSTY CONDITIONS AND A HIGH RISK OF RIP CURRENTS. PLUS ON AND OFF SHOWERS FOR I-95 LOCATIONS. ALL RIGHT, LET’S GET YOU OUT THE DOOR WITH A LOOK AT OUR TOWER CAMERA NETWORK OUT AT PORT CANAVERAL. MIX OF SUN AND CLOUDS TO START. AND AT TIMES WE HAVE A LITTLE BIT MORE CLOUD COVER THAN SUNSHINE. THAT’S JUST THE FORECAST FOR THE DAY AHEAD. ALREADY THIS MORNING, TRACKING SOME RAINFALL, WORKING AWAY FROM COCOA BEACH OVER TOWARDS MERRITT ISLAND, DOWN TO INDIAN HARBOR BEACH AND SATELLITE BEACH, JUST A FEW SPRINKLES AND A FEW MORE HEAVIER DOWNPOURS ON THE WAY TOWARDS SCOTTSMOOR. COUPLE OF SHOWERS AROUND OAK HILL AS WELL. IT’S ALL THANKS TO THIS FRONT THAT STALLED OUT IN SOUTH FLORIDA. PLUS, THERE’S AN AREA OF LOW PRESSURE. IT’S A NON-TROPICAL LOW THAT’S OFF OF OUR COASTLINE AND WITH A LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM WE GET COUNTERCLOCKWISE WINDS. SO TODAY OUR WIND IS OUT OF THE NORTH NORTHEAST, WHICH IS WHY WE’RE GOING TO HAVE ON AND OFF SHOWERS ACROSS OUR COAST THIS MORNING. AND THIS AFTERNOON FOR INLAND SPOTS. I THINK THAT’S WHEN WE’LL SEE MAYBE A COUPLE OF PASSING SHOWERS AS WELL. COMING UP IN A FEW MINUTES, WE’LL TALK A LITTLE BIT MORE ABOUT TODAY’S FORECAST PLUS THE TROPICS. BUT FIRST LET’S GET BACK TO MEGAN WITH A CHECK ON THE 408. YEAH. KELLIANNE. YOU CAN SEE HERE THE DELAYS HERE REALLY BAD. STILL THIS MORNING WESTBOUND IT IS BACKED UP PAST THE 417 IN GOLDENROD. STATE ROUTE FOUR WESTBOUND. THIS IS GOING TO IMPACT THOSE DRIVERS FOR THE MOST PART TRAVELING FROM THE WATERFORD LAKES AREA TOWARDS DOWNTOWN ORLANDO ALONG STATE ROAD FOUR WESTBOUND. SO I WOULD PERSONALLY AVOID THOSE LANES. AND ALSO YOU’RE STILL PAYING THOSE TOLLS TO SIT IN THIS TRAFFIC, SO YOU’RE BETTER OFF THIS MORNING USING COLONIAL DRIVE AS THAT DETOUR. YOU’RE GOING TO BE SITTING IN SOME STOPLIGHTS. YOU STILL NEED TO ADD AN EXTRA 20 TO 25 MINUTES FOR THAT MORNING DRIVE, BUT IT’S GOING TO BE A LOT BETTER THAN SITTING IN THIS TRAFFIC, BECAUSE WE REALLY DON’T SEE THESE DELAYS START TO IMPROVE UNTIL RIGHT WHEN YOU GET TO THAT I-4 INTERCHANGE, YOU CAN SEE THAT PURPLE AND RED HERE, SHOWING JUST HOW LONG THE BACKUP IS. SO SEVERAL MILES OVER TEN MILES THIS MORNING IMPACTING YOU WESTBOUND ALONG THE 408. NO OTHER BIG CRASHES RIGHT NOW, THOUGH. ONCE YOU GET TO I-4 THIS NICE AND QUIET FOR THAT TUESDAY MORNING DRIVE. HEADING OUT THE DOOR AFTER THIS LABOR DAY WEEKEND, WE’LL CHECK BACK IN WITH THOSE TRAVEL TIMES ALONG THE FOUR WAY COMING UP IN JUST A FEW MINUTES, IN ORANGE COUNTY, A COW WAS TO BLAME FOR A CRASH ALONG COLONIAL DRIVE NEAR BITHLO. THE SHERIFF’S OFFICE SAYS THAT THIS HAPPENED NEAR EAST RIVER HIGH SCHOOL AROUND 330 THIS MORNING. TRAFFIC WAS DELAYED FOR QUITE A BIT HERE, BUT THINGS ARE FLOWING ONCE AGAIN AT THIS HOUR. NO ONE WAS HURT. IN ORANGE COUNTY, VOTERS HAVE BEEN TAKEN TO THE POLLS FOR ABOUT AN HOUR NOW. THERE. IT’S PART OF A SPECIAL ELECTION. NOW THERE ARE TWO BIG ONES. YES, STATE SENATE DISTRICT 15 AND STATE HOUSE DISTRICT 40 ARE BOTH ON THE BALLOT. WESH 2’S PAOLA TRISTAN ARUDA IS IN WINTER PARK AT ONE OF THE POLLING LOCATIONS. MORE THAN 15,000 PEOPLE HAVE CAST THEIR BALLOTS EARLY, SO NOW WE’RE JUST WAITING TO FIGURE OUT EXACTLY HOW MANY PEOPLE WILL SHOW UP TO POLLING LOCATIONS LIKE THIS ONE. THE ACTUAL POLLING LOCATION IS JUST AROUND THE CORNER, AND WE HAVE SEEN A COUPLE OF CARS SO FAR. OF THOSE VOTES, OVER 10,000 WERE CAST BY MAIL AND ABOUT 5000 BY EARLY VOTING, MARKING THE CURRENT VOTER TURNOUT AT ABOUT 5.62%. STATE SENATE DISTRICT 15 IS THE SEAT LEFT VACANT WHEN GERALDINE THOMPSON DIED. IT COVERS AREAS OF WEST ORANGE COUNTY LIKE WINTER GARDEN, APOPKA, AND ZELLWOOD. STATE REPRESENTATIVE LAVONNE BRACY DAVIS WON THE DEMOCRATIC PRIMARY FOR THE SEAT, SO SHE’S FACING OFF AGAINST REPUBLICAN WILLIE MONTAGUE FOR THIS ELECTION. THE OTHER RACES FOR BRACY DAVIS’S SEAT IN STATE HOUSE DISTRICT 40, WHICH COVERS COLLEGE PARK, PINE HILLS, ROSEMONT AND OCOEE. RASHAWN YOUNG WON THE PRIMARY AGAINST FORMER STATE REP TRAVIS MCCURDY, AND TODAY, YOUNG FACES OFF AGAINST REPUBLICAN JUAN LEE. THE POLLS ARE NOW OPEN UNTIL 7 P.M., AND IF YOU ARE COMING OUT TO VOTE, MAKE SURE THAT YOU BRING A PHOTO AND SIGNATURE ID WITH YOU. COVERING ORANGE COUNTY IN WINTER PARK, PAOLA TRISTAN ARUDA WESH TWO NEWS. NEW. THIS MORNING WE’RE STAYING IN ORANGE COUNTY AND FOLLOWING UP ON A SCENE WHERE WE WERE LIVE AS POLICE WERE INVESTIGATING LAST NIGHT. WE NOW KNOW THIS IS PART OF A SHOOTING. IT’S ON EDGEMOOR STREET, JUST OFF NORTH IVEY LANE AND OLD WINTER GARDEN ROAD. THIS IS IN THE MALIBU GROVES NEIGHBORHOOD THERE. ORLANDO POLICE TELL US A MAN WAS SHOT. HE WAS TAKEN TO THE HOSPITAL AND IS EXPECTED TO SURVIVE. POLICE ARE GOING TO CONTINUE WITH THIS INVESTIGATION. ALSO THIS MORNING, A MAN IS IN THE HOSPITAL IN VOLUSIA COUNTY AFTER AN OFFICER-INVOLVED SHOOTING. THIS WAS IN PORT ORANGE. AND POLICE SAY IN THE AREA OF CAREY COURT, RIGHT IN THE WILLOW RUN NEIGHBORHOOD, AUTHORITIES TELL US OFFICERS WERE FIRST CALLED OUT FOR A WELL-BEING CHECK ON SOMEONE WHO MIGHT HARM THEMSELVES. POLICE DIDN’T SAY WHAT LED UP TO THE GUNFIRE, BUT ONE MAN WHO DIDN’T WANT TO BE IDENTIFIED TOLD WESH TWO NEWS HE HEARD MULTIPLE GUNSHOTS. WHEN I CAME AROUND TO THE FRONT OF THE HOUSE, THERE WERE POLICE CARS EVERYWHERE, ALL UP AND DOWN THE STREET, SO I WALKED OUT FRONT TO SEE WHAT WAS GOING ON AND I SAW POLICE POLICEMEN ALONGSIDE MY HOUSE, WAVING EMPHATICALLY FOR ME TO GET BACK IN THE HOUSE. POLICE HAVEN’T SAID ANYTHING ABOUT THE EXTENT OF THE MAN’S INJURIES, ONLY THAT HE WAS TAKEN TO THE HOSPITAL. THE FLORIDA DEPARTMENT OF LAW ENFORCEMENT IS NOW INVESTIGATING. RIGHT NOW, FLORIDA STATE FOOTBALL PLAYER FROM CENTRAL FLORIDA IS RECOVERING AFTER BEING FOUND SHOT NEAR TALLAHASSEE. AND SOME OF YOU MAY RECOGNIZE HIM. ETHAN PRITCHARD WAS FROM SANFORD. NOW, GADSDEN COUNTY SHERIFF’S DEPUTIES SAY THAT PRITCHARD WAS FOUND IN A CAR SUNDAY IN HAVANA. THAT’S ABOUT 16 MILES NORTHWEST OF TALLAHASSEE. THE FLORIDA STATE LINEBACKER WAS SHOT JUST ONE NIGHT AFTER THE SEMINOLES PULLED OFF A BIG UPSET AGAINST THE NUMBER EIGHT RANKED ALABAMA. PRITCHARD DID NOT PLAY, BUT THAT’S NOT UNUSUAL FOR FRESHMAN HEAD COACH MIKE NORVELL IS ASKING EVERYONE TO KEEP PRITCHARD IN THEIR THOUGHTS AS HE FIGHTS TO RECOVER. I GOT A CHANCE TO BE THERE LAST NIGHT WITH HIM AND HIS DAD AND FAMILY AND YOU KNOW, GRATEFUL, YOU KNOW, FOR ALL THE SUPPORT AND, YOU KNOW, MEDICAL, YOU KNOW, SUPPORT THAT HE WAS ABLE TO RECEIVE. PRITCHARD PLAYED FOOTBALL FOR SEMINOLE HIGH AND WAS A FOUR STAR RECRUIT. HE WAS IN DEMAND FROM A NUMBER OF SCHOOLS, INCLUDING UCF, BUT HE CHOSE FSU. NO ONE ANSWERED AT THE PRITCHARD HOME. WHEN WE WENT TO TALK TO THEM IN A TEXT MESSAGE FROM HIS FATHER, EARL. THE FAMILY TOLD WESH TWO NEWS THAT WE ARE REQUESTING PRIVACY AT THIS TIME. IF YOU CAN, PLEASE PRAY FOR ETHAN AND OUR FAMILY. NOW, ONCE WE ARE COMFORTABLE WITH THE SITUATION, WE WILL REACH OUT. ETHAN IS A FIGHTER, BUT HE NEEDS SOME EXTRA HELPFUL PRAYERS RIGHT NOW. DEPUTIES SO FAR HAVE NO MOTIVE IN THE SHOOTING. TODAY, POLICE NEED YOUR HELP FINDING WHOEVER SHOT AND KILLED A TWO YEAR OLD GIRL AND SENT HER GRANDPARENTS TO THE HOSPITAL WITH CRITICAL INJURIES. MELBOURNE POLICE OFFICERS WERE STILL OUT AT THE HOME ON POPLAR LANE YESTERDAY AS A MEMORIAL FOR THIS LITTLE GIRL GROWS RIGHT THERE ON THE SIDEWALK. THE DEADLY SHOOTING WAS FRIDAY NIGHT. IF YOU KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT IT, CALL THE SHERIFF’S OFFICE OR CRIMELINE. A MAN IS IN JAIL ACCUSED OF BREAKING INTO HIS EX-GIRLFRIEND’S HOME IN DELTONA AND THEN PULLING A GUN ON HER. DEPUTIES SAY THE WOMAN WAS HOME WITH HER FRIEND AND SISTER WHEN DAREN SINGLETARY BROKE IN THROUGH A WINDOW. DEPUTIES SAY HE THEN ATTACKED THE WOMAN BEFORE PULLING A GUN AND FIRING A ROUND INTO THE CEILING. EVENTUALLY, DEPUTIES SAY THAT HE TOOK HIS EX’S PHONE AND JUMPED OUT THE BACK WINDOW. DEPUTIES THEN TRACKED HIM DOWN TO NEAR LAKE HELEN. CRAWL OUT NOW. GOOD BOYS. WHAT A DOG! CRAWL TO YOUR RIGHT. YOU’RE RIGHT. I GOT. THEY EVENTUALLY FOUND SINGLETARY HIDING UNDER AN ABANDONED RV. THE GUN BURIED IN THE DIRT. HE’S NOW FACING HOME. INVASION, ROBBERY AND ASSAULT CHARGES. AS OF THIS MORNING, ALL PROTESTERS ARRESTED BY FLORIDA HIGHWAY PATROL FOR CHALKING ON THE CROSSWALK NEXT TO PULSE ARE OUT OF JAIL. THE BREWING LEGAL BATTLES. JUST THE LATEST DEVELOPMENT IN THE BACK AND FORTH SINCE FDOT ERASED THE RAINBOW CROSSWALK. UNDER NEW STATE REGULATIONS. WESH TWO DAVID JONES HAS MORE ON THE ARREST. THIS ISSUE IS BECOMING BIGGER. ATTORNEY BLAKE SIMONS SAYS IT’S ABOUT MORE THAN JUST A CROSSWALK. HIS CLIENTS, SOME OF WHICH WERE RECENT ARRESTEES, TOOK THE MESSAGE TO ORLANDO CITY HALL. THIS ISSUE NEEDS TO BE IN FRONT OF OUR POLITICIANS. IT NEEDS TO BE IN FRONT OF OUR GOVERNMENT. IN CITY HALL IS AN EXCELLENT PLACE TO CONTINUE EXERCISING OUR FIRST AMENDMENT RIGHT TO FREE SPEECH. DONOVAN SHORT, WHO GOES BY MELODY ZAPORIZHZHIA, WHO GOES BY KATE AND MARY JANE EAST, ALL FACED AN ORANGE COUNTY JUDGE FOR THE FIRST TIME ON LABOR DAY. SHANE SHANE. SHAME. ALL ARRESTED BY THE STATE HIGHWAY PATROL FOR PUTTING CHALK ON THE CROSSWALK LATE LAST WEEK. ANOTHER PERSON, SEBASTIAN SUAREZ, WAS ARRESTED FOR THE SAME OFFENSE. GOVERNOR RON DESANTIS SAYS ARTWORK AND MARKINGS, REGARDLESS OF THEIR MESSAGING, NEED TO GO. BASED ON NEW FDOT REGULATIONS. SO I WOULD REFER YOU TO THE DOT MEMO. THE PULSE MEMORIAL BEING ONE OF THE FIRST PLACES PAINTED OVER WITH THESE NEW ALLEGED FDOT REGULATIONS, WAS THE FIRST BLOW IN THIS FIGHT. THIS FIGHT HAS NOW BECOME BIGGER WITH SEBASTIAN’S ARREST AND NOW THE ARREST OF THE THREE INDIVIDUALS. LAST NIGHT. THE JUDGE FOUND PROBABLE CAUSE FOR THE ARRESTS OF THE THREE BECAUSE THE STATE GAVE A SPECIFIC AMOUNT FOR HOW MUCH IT COST TO REPAINT THE CROSSWALK, WHICH IT CALLED A TRAFFIC CONTROL DEVICE. SIMONS ARGUES A CROSSWALK DOES NOT MEET THE DEFINITION FOR A TRAFFIC CONTROL DEVICE. I DON’T THINK THE FDOT REGULATIONS ARE INFRINGING ON FIRST AMENDMENT RIGHTS. I THINK FHP CHOOSING TO TARGET PEOPLE FOR PERFORMING CONDUCTIVE SPEECH IN A CROSSWALK, WHICH IS AN EXTENSION OF THE SIDEWALK, A TRADITIONALLY HELD PUBLIC FORUM FOR FREE SPEECH. I THINK THAT IS THE ISSUE. DAVID JONES, NOW, TO GIVE YOU SOME CONTEXT, THE STATE FIRST PAINTED THE RAINBOW CROSSWALK BACK IN 2017, IN REMEMBRANCE OF THE 49 VICTIMS OF THE PULSE NIGHTCLUB SHOOTING. AND FDOT PAINTED IT OVER A WEEK AND A HALF AGO, IN THE EARLY MORNING OF AUGUST 21ST. WITHIN 24 HOURS, PROTESTERS AND SOME CITY OFFICIALS USED CHALK TO COLOR IN THE CROSSWALK AGAIN. BUT BY SUNDAY, FDOT CREWS REPAINTED THE CROSSWALK BACK TO BLACK AND WHITE. ORLANDO POLICE OFFICERS IN FLORIDA HIGHWAY PATROL TROOPERS STARTED GUARDING THE CROSSWALK LAST MONTH, THE SAME DAY SOMEONE FOUND A SUSPICIOUS PACKAGE THERE AT PULSE. IT TURNED INTO AN INVESTIGATION AND IT WAS DEEMED SAFE. NOW, THAT PACKAGE WAS ACTUALLY CHALKED. SOMEONE SENT TO HELP THOSE PROTESTERS. THE BACK AND FORTH BETWEEN PROTESTERS AND FDOT THEN CONTINUED UNTIL LAST FRIDAY, WHEN THE FIRST PERSON THERE WAS ARRESTED, SEBASTIAN SUAREZ. MORE ARRESTS HAPPENED SUNDAY, SETTING OFF MULTIPLE LEGAL BATTLES BETWEEN PROTESTERS AND THE STATE. MEANWHILE, TODAY, THIS RAINBOW CROSSWALK IN DELRAY BEACH WILL BE UP FOR DISCUSSION HERE IN CENTRAL FLORIDA. FDOT SAYS THE ARTWORK MUST BE REMOVED BY TOMORROW, BUT THE CITY REQUESTED A HEARING. IT’S BEING HELD AT FDOT. S TURKEY LAKE PLAZA OFFICES RIGHT THERE ALONG THE TURNPIKE IN ORLANDO. LOOKING AHEAD TO TOMORROW. ANOTHER BATCH OF STARLINK SATELLITES WILL LAUNCH FROM OUR SPACE COAST. SPACEX IS EXPECTED TO LAUNCH AT 706 TOMORROW MORNING FROM CAPE CANAVERAL SPACE FORCE STATION. AND YOU CAN WATCH IT RIGHT HERE ON CW 18 WHEN IT LIFTS OFF. PICKLEBALL IS A VERY POPULAR SPORT. YEAH, BUT IN ONE CENTRAL FLORIDA NEIGHBORHOOD, IT’S CREATING A LOT OF NOISE. THE NEW LIMITS IN WHY SOME PLAYERS IN WINTER PARK SAY THE WHOLE THI
8-year-old boy bitten by shark while snorkeling in Florida, officials say
Updated: 10:57 AM EDT Sep 2, 2025
Editorial Standards ⓘ
An 8-year-old boy was hospitalized after he was bitten by a shark in Key Largo, according to reports from WFLA. The Monroe County Sheriff’s Office explained the incident happened while the boy was snorkeling around 3:24 p.m. off Key Largo on the oceanside, WFLA reports. >> Top headlines for Sept. 2 in Central FloridaThe boy was airlifted to Jackson Memorial Hospital in Miami. Details about the boy’s condition are unknown. WFLA said the U.S. Coast Guard and the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission were notified of the incident.
KEY LARGO, Fla. —
An 8-year-old boy was hospitalized after he was bitten by a shark in Key Largo, according to reports from WFLA.
The Monroe County Sheriff’s Office explained the incident happened while the boy was snorkeling around 3:24 p.m. off Key Largo on the oceanside, WFLA reports.
>> Top headlines for Sept. 2 in Central Florida
The boy was airlifted to Jackson Memorial Hospital in Miami. Details about the boy’s condition are unknown.
WFLA said the U.S. Coast Guard and the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission were notified of the incident.
