So Cal student killed in shark attack

A 20-year-old UCSB student was killed today when he was attacked by a shark.

It is reported that the victim is from Orange County. He was attacked between 9 and 9:30 this morning while body boarding off Surf Beach at Vandenberg Air Force Base. He was with a friend who brought him back to shore where he died.

Santa Barbara Sheriff Bill Brown says the shark bit his leg off which cause severe bleeding, and led to his death.

According to procedure three local beaches were ordered closed for 72 hours. This time frame is modeled after policies in surrounding areas and is fairly standard. A close by beach, Jalama Beach, has no posted restrictions except the usual warning signs.

Local park ranger Clay Garland says the reason for the difference in warnings is because Jalama Beach rarely has shark sightings whereas Surf beach is known as an active shark area.

Shark attacks are not new for Surf Beach. Back in September 2008, a shark bit a surfer’s board (this prompted a 48-hour warning to beach users). And in 2003 a great white shark killed a woman in at Avila Beach, about 30 miles north of Vandenberg. Great whites also killed two men in 2004 and 2008 at beaches in Mendocino and San Diego.

More information will likely be released as the investigation continues, but for now little information on the identity of the victim or the type of shark that bit him have been provided.