Latest news with #VolusiaCounty
Yahoo
a day ago
- Yahoo
Gunfire erupts during fight at Daytona Beach business, two injured
A man was shot inside a Daytona Beach business on Monday, July 21, and a stray bullet went through a wall, wounding a second person outside, police said. Nathan Lee, 23, of Port Orange, was arrested for aggravated battery with a deadly weapon, aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, and attempted felony murder. He was being held in the Volusia County jail on Tuesday, July 22, without bail. Daytona Beach police said the shooting occurred at 402 Madison Avenue. An online search shows that Pacesetter Personnel Services is located at the address. Police said they were initially called to a fight involving two people at the business, but while they were on their way, dispatchers informed them that someone had been shot. Responding officers quickly located Lee and arrested him, police said. A preliminary investigation revealed that during a physical fight, Lee produced a firearm and shot the victim multiple times. One of the rounds fired went through a wall and struck a second uninvolved victim, who was standing outside of the business, police said. Both victims were transported to the hospital to get medical attention, police said. This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: Two victims shot at Daytona Beach business
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Yahoo
'I didn't see it': Surfer bitten by shark in second attack at Florida beach this month
An 18-year-old surfer was bitten by a shark at New Smyrna Beach in Florida, marking the second such attack at the beach this month. The male victim sustained a shark bite on his foot while surfing on Friday, July 18, Aaron Jenkins, deputy chief of Volusia County Beach Safety, confirmed to USA TODAY. Sam Hollis, a surf instructor, told NBC's Today he was able to swim to safety after the sudden attack that happened "in the blink of an eye." "It just kind of felt like something clamping down really hard, and then it kind of felt hot, because the teeth obviously, you know, started to dig into my skin," Hollis told Today. "I didn't see it beforehand, I didn't hear it or anything. It just kind of yanked me," Hollis told the outlet. It marks the second shark attack this month at the beach, which is known as the self-proclaimed "Shark Bite Capital of the World," according to The Daytona Beach News-Journal, part of the USA TODAY Network. On July 6, a 40-year-old man was bitten by a shark on his right forearm as he swam in the ocean, per the News-Journal. So far in 2025, four shark bites have been reported in Volusia County, Jenkins said. Surfer bitten by shark had non life-threatening injuries, officials say Around noon local time on July 18, an 18-year-old male surf camp instructor was paddling to a sandbar when he attempted to jump and push his board over a wave, according to a report of the incident. At that time, the shark bit his left foot, causing lacerations. The surfer kicked the shark on the nose to get it to release from his foot. He told officials he barely saw the shark but said it was large, according to the report. Lifeguards arrived on scene to treat the man, who was then transported to a hospital with "non life-threatening injuries," Jenkins said. Four shark bites in one Florida county this year, officials say Jenkins said the July 18 incident marks the fourth shark bite in Volusia County, Florida, so far this year. Most recently, a 40-year-old man was bitten on his arm at New Smyrna Beach on July 6. He sustained non life-threatening injuries, according to the News-Journal. Volusia County leads the nation in shark bites each year, though they are typically non-fatal, according to data from the International Shark Attack File. Melina Khan is a national trending reporter for USA TODAY. She can be reached at This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Another shark attack at New Smyrna Beach, Florida: Surfer recovering
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Yahoo
Shark Bites Teen Surfer in Florida…Fourth This Year (Video)
Right now, we're in the midst of the summer doldrums, about halfway through the year. And in Florida, New Smyrna Beach particularly, yet another shark attack has gone down – the fourth of the year. That's more times than most people have gone to the dentist, called their grandma who lives out of state, or gave the house a deep cleaning so far in 2025. It shouldn't come as a huge surprise, however, since the attack happened in the 'shark bite capital of the world.' Quite often, Volusia County ranks high on lists that track the number of shark attacks across the globe, and quite often, NSB, which rests in Volusia, is responsible for those high numbers. Four attacks, and the summer season isn't over yet. For more on the attack, here's the local news report. The attack happened on an 18-year-old surf instructor while he was in the water giving a lesson. It chomped his foot, and the victim was transported to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. However, the damage was described by local officials as 'nasty.' 'It's almost like a perfect storm,' said Joe Miguez, manager of the University of Florida International Shark Attack File. 'We have turbidity water, we have a lot of bait fish in the water, and you also have a lot of people in the water. So, it's kind of like a three-pronged thing.'Just last month, over the Fourth of July holiday weekend, another surfer was attacked at New Smyrna Beach. Matt Bender, 40, had his arm ran through a meat grinder when a shark latched onto him during a session at NSB. 'Just like a lightning strike, the shark came out of nowhere,' Bender recounted. 'I just felt it chomp down on my arm. It felt like a bear trap. Unfortunately, it shredded my arm. It immediately let go, and was gone in a flash.' Two attacks in two months; four attacks so far this year; NSB living up to its unfortunate moniker. Keep an eye out, Floridian Bites Teen Surfer in Florida…Fourth This Year (Video) first appeared on Surfer on Jul 19, 2025 Solve the daily Crossword
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Yahoo
Shark Attacks Surfer, 18, at Florida Beach Known as the 'Shark Bite Capital of the World'
The surf instructor's foot injury marks the fourth shark bite at New Smyrna beach this yearNEED TO KNOW A shark bit a surf instructor on the foot in Florida's New Smyrna Beach, which also known as the 'Shark Bite Capital of the World," on July 18 The 18-year-old surfer suffered a "nasty" but not life-threatening injury The bite marked the fourth shark encounter in Volusia County in 2025An 18-year-old was surfing in a Florida city notorious for shark encounters when one sunk its teeth into his foot. The unidentified teen — a surf instructor, according to local NBC affiliate WESH — was at New Smyrna Beach around 12 p.m. local time on Friday, July 18, when the encounter occurred, Tamra Malphurs, director of the Volusia County Beach Safety Ocean Rescue, told local outlet FOX 35. (The Daytona Beach News-Journal and local ABC affiliate WFTV also reported the news.) After the shark bit his foot, the surf instructor was transported to a local hospital with injuries that were not life-threatening, Malphurs told FOX 35. The surfer's boss described the injury as 'nasty,' according to WESH. Volusia County Beach Safety Ocean Rescue did not immediately respond to PEOPLE's request for comment on Saturday, July 19. According to an anonymous eyewitness, several first responders arrived on the scene of the attack, which marks the fourth shark encounter in Florida's Volusia County so far this year, according to the county website. Two emergency vehicles and a police car 'came pretty quickly' after the surfer was bitten, the bystander told WESH. 'And some of the instructors came and got the lifeguard on the stand here and down.' New Smyrna Beach, a surfing hub south of Daytona Beach, is widely known as the 'Shark Bite Capital of the World,' according to WESH and The Daytona Beach News-Journal. Less than two weeks before the July 18 attack, a man identified as Matthew Bender was bitten by a shark while surfing in the Florida city, per FOX 35. "I felt it clamp down like a bear trap out of nowhere," Bender told the outlet of the attack, which took place on July 6. 'By the time I looked down, it was already gone. I never saw the shark, but it bit really forcefully. It felt like electricity and like extreme pressure.' "And then I think it shook its head. I definitely felt that as it was letting go,' added Bender. ' It was also fast.' There have been 359 'unprovoked' shark attacks recorded in Volusia County since 1882, the most of any Florida county, according to the International Shark Attack File, the Florida Museum of Natural History's database. The next highest is Brevard County, with 159. Volusia County 'is conducive toward shark bites' due to a 'confluence of factors,' Gavin Naylor, director of the Florida Museum of Natural History's Florida Program for Shark Research, previously told The Daytona Beach News-Journal. 'You need a bunch of sharks, and they need to be in the mood to bite things, and you need a bunch of people in the same area at the same time,' Naylor told the newspaper in 2024, explaining that there are also environmental factors, like the nutrients in the area. is now available in the Apple App Store! Download it now for the most binge-worthy celeb content, exclusive video clips, astrology updates and more! Though the species of shark behind the recent Volusia County bites is unknown, blacktip sharks are responsible for most of the bites in the region, according to Naylor. Sharks like blacktips and spinner sharks, which are also found in the area, 'are highly piscivorous,' the evolutionary biologist told The Daytona Beach News-Journal, detailing that their diet typically consists of fish, so when they bite a person, the injured individual's reaction scares them away. 'If they were bull sharks or tiger sharks,' Naylor said, 'they might stick around a little bit more, and the injuries would be a lot worse.' Read the original article on People
Yahoo
12-07-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Gov. Ron DeSantis vetoes $5 million for Volusia County projects out of Florida budget
Gov. Ron DeSantis signed the state's $117.4 billion spending plan for 2025-26 after redlining $567 million of local projects across Florida. One item that survived: a nearly $20 million appropriation to buy a partially submerged parcel on the Intracoastal Waterway in New Smyrna Beach, despite the Volusia County Property Appraiser's Office valuing it at $174,750. Before the state buys it, the parcel will be appraised, so the state likely will not spend the full $19.7 million appropriated for it. No Flagler County appropriations were vetoed. Here's a look at some of the Volusia County projects that were wiped out, totaling more than $5.1 million: $1.5 million from DeBary, which proposed to use the funding to improve stormwater management after Hurricanes Debbie, Helene and Milton caused more than 30 homes in the city to flood and four major roads to collapse. Sen. Tom Wright, R-New Smyrna Beach, and Rep. Richard Gentry, R-Astor, made the request. $900,000 for Orange City to construct a hardened fire station that can "withstand extreme weather related events that the current manufactured home is not rated to withstand," according to the request from Gentry. While Gentry had asked for the full amount, Wright requested half, or $450,000. $750,000 from a Daytona Beach Police Department Training Facility. Wright and Rep. Bill Partington, R-Ormond Beach, initially asked for $1.5 million to cover nearly one-third of the project's total cost. The city described the project as "a quality facility for law enforcement to perform required training for certification and other purposes," helping to reduce a backlog in training, according to the request form. $500,000 for Ormond Beach to do a stormwater analysis, as requested by Sen. Tom Leek, R-Ormond Beach, and Partington. Some 1,200 residences within a 500-acre area has experienced flooding where stormwater infrastructure is more than 50 years old. The city's stormwater master plan has identified the area as a top priority for study and improvement, according to Leek's request. $500,000 for Ponce Inlet to replace its fire station, which it describes as "outdated, located in a flood zone next to wetlands, vulnerable to future flooding and sea-level rise and inadequate" to meet community needs. The money would have been used to start the planning and design phase, according to a request form from Wright and Rep. Chase Tramont. $375,000 from a Deltona project, pumping of the Lake Theresa basin prior to hurricane season. Rep. Webster Barnaby, R-Deltona, made the request, which asked for funding in response to more than 17 inches of floodwater during Hurricane Milton. $225,000 for Lake Helen, which had "significant flooding" during recent hurricanes. The money, requested by Wright and Barnaby, would have been used for planning and design of stormwater improvements. $187,500 for Lake Helen's City Hall upgrades. The 109-year-old building has a leaky roof, mold and rat infestation, and the city has a $750,000 plan to fix it. Wright and Barnaby had asked for $375,000. $75,682 for Stetson University's Brain Fitness Academy, a cognitive rehabilitation program for older adults living with dementia or cognitive defects. Barnaby initially requested more than $150,000 to increase staffing at the academy, where more frequent programs would be delivered for the cognitive program and to support care partners. $100,000 for the Volusia Free Clinic, run by Volusia Volunteers in Medicine, a nonprofit that provides free health care to uninsured adults who earn 300% or less of federal poverty level. Partington had requested $110,000 to help fund medical office manager's salary with $30,000, plus funds to lease a facility and pay for patient imaging lab fees, medical supplies and other costs. $12,500 each for Daytona Beach Shores and Holly Hill, which intended to use the funds to purchase mechanized sandbag fillers for residents. This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: Daytona, DeBary, Orange City, Ormond projects cut from Florida budget
