Portions of New York City beach temporarily closed after shark spotted, NYPD drone footage reveals
A stretch of beach in Queens, New York, was closed Thursday afternoon after two sharks were spotted in the murky waters by law enforcement.
The New York City Police Department (NYPD) issued a warning to beachgoers after a shark was spotted off the coast of a popular beach.
"Be Advised! Our drones have sighted a shark at Rockaway Beach," NYPD Deputy Commissioner of Operations Kaz Daughtry wrote in an X post Thursday afternoon.
Officials said Beach 58 to Beach 81 at Rockaway Beach and the boardwalk and Beach 64 to Beach 104 were closed following a second shark sighting.
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NYPD drone footage of the shark showed the predator lurking in the shallow, murky waters just beyond the surf break off the beach.
The NYPD said its drones will continue to monitor the water for additional sharks or swimmers in distress.
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"Our goal is to keep the public safe, and with new and improving drone technology, we are able to do that," Daughtry said.
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The sightings come as New Yorkers flocked to beaches to beat the heat.
New York City hit 87 degrees Fahrenheit Thursday but felt like 92, according to FOX Weather.
While sharks are not common in New York City's waters, three people were attacked over two days on Long Island last summer.
A 47-year-old man was in chest-deep water off Quogue Village Beach in the Hamptons when he felt an apparent bite to his right knee, Quogue Police said.
Soon after, a 49-year-old man reported having a hand bitten while swimming near Fire Island Pines Beach.
A day before the back-to-back attacks, a 15-year-old female at Robert Moses exited the water with three small puncture wounds on her leg from an unidentified fish, police said.
