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Friend of Shark Attack Victim Describes 'red wave' of Blood During Fatal Mauling
The day after a young surfer was killed by a shark in the waters off Surf Beach in Santa Barbara County, his friend, Matthew Garcia, is describing the gruesome incident to the press.
Garcia, 20, shared his experience of being about two feet from his friend, 19-year-old UC Santa Barbara student Lucas Ransom, when the attack occurred, according to CBS:
“When the shark hit him, he just said, ‘Help me, dude!’ He knew what was going on,” Garcia told the AP. “It was really fast. You just saw a red wave and this water is blue — as blue as it could ever be — and it was just red, the whole wave.”
The shark had mauled Ransom's leg, removing a portion of the limb int he process; moments later Garcia found his friend's lifeless body floating in the bloodied waters. Garcia described the attack as "stealth," and that there'd been no warning. Ransom's leg was not recovered. The friends had been buddies since they were classmates at Perris High in Riverside; this was their first time at Surf Beach and were going to head to class after catching a few waves.
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