An Everett teen this week is recalling the horrific moments when his friend, from Revere, was fatally attacked by a Great White shark in Wellfleet on Cape Cod last weekend.
Isaac Rocha, 16, told the Boston Globe he was five yards away when he saw a fin and blood in the water and the scream of his friend, Arthur Medici – an engineering student from Revere. He dragged him 40 yards into shore to safety, but it was too late.
Now, friends and family are mourning the loss of Revere resident Arthur Medici, 26, after he died on Saturday as a result of the shark bite – the first death by shark in Massachusetts since the 1930s.
The attack happened off Newcomb Hollow Beach in Wellfleet around 12:15 p.m. Medici, of Beachland Avenue in Revere, was an active boogie-boarder and was on his board with his future brother-in-law Rocha nearby, riding the waves about 30 feet off shore when the Great White shark came from behind and bit Medici. He was wearing a wetsuit and swim fins. Medici’s femoral arteries were severed when the back of his legs and the calves were bit and he bleed to death. His friend and another bystander and park ranger pulled him on to the beach where CPR was performed.
Medici was taken to Cape Cod Hospital in Hyannis, where he was pronounced dead, according to State Police spokesman David Procopio.
According to his Facebook page, Medici was an engineering student at Bunker Hill Community College and he had worked for the Capital Grill in Burlington, but was recently working for a pizzeria. He was a native of Brazil and lived in Revere for the last four years. He was also engaged to be married to Rocha’s sister.
He loved life, he was an active member of the Maranatha Church on Broadway in Revere, devoting his life to the Lord. He participated in the praise group and was very involved in all of the church activities, according to his friend Tiago Silva.
“He was always joyful and willing to help others, even going as far as feeding the homeless. He was happily engaged to a smart, kind-hearted medical student with a bright future. Our lives are never going to be the same without him. His laughter filled our home and he will be greatly missed by us all,” Silva said.
This is the first fatal shark attack since 1936.
After the tragedy, Newcomb Hollow Beach was closed to swimming. Wellfleet Police and State Police from the Cape and Islands Detective Unit are investigating, Procopio said.
A vigil and funeral service were to be held tonight (Wednesday, September 19) at Family United Methodist Church in Saugus.