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Shark Watch: Top 10 most dangerous beaches involving shark attacks, surfer deaths

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Shark Watch: Top 10 most dangerous beaches involving shark attacks, surfer deaths

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Florida waters have worn the crown as the king of shark attacks for the last decade.

There have been 259 shark bites in the Sunshine State since 2012, according to the International Shark Attack File (ISAF).

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The only other states that recorded enough shark attacks to even be a footnote on the list are Hawaii and South Carolina, with 76 and 49, respectively. 

A study by a law firm incorporated shark bites in a report that rated the most dangerous beaches in the United States. 

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A great white shark swims in the waters off of California. (Photo by Reinhard Dirscherl/ullstein bild via Getty Images)

Not surprisingly, the top 10 most dangerous beaches are all in Florida, according to Simmrin Law’s report, and 24 of the top 25 are Sunshine State shores. 

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Only Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, broke into the top 25. That location had 24 surf zone deaths and shark attacks, as well as 33 hurricanes, according to Fox Tampa.

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The experts also took into account other dangers, such as hurricanes and rip tides, and graded the country’s most dangerous beaches. The higher the score out of 100, the more dangerous the beach. 

Here is the top 10, according to that law group.

Law enforcement remove a shark attack victim from Walton County, Florida beaches on June 7, 2024. (Walton County Sheriff)

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A shark is seen swimming across a sandbar on Aug. 13, 2021 from a shark watch with Dragonfly Sportfishing charters, off the Massachusetts coast of Cape Cod. (AP Photo/Phil Marcelo, File)

10. Miramar Beach, 40.63

This is the only beach in the top 10 where a shark did not attack someone in 2023, according to Fox Tampa, based on the law firm’s report. 

However, seven surfers died in these waters last year. 

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9. Melbourne Beach, 40.9

There were 19 recorded shark attacks in 2023, according to KTSM, citing Simmrin Law’s report. 

Most of the victims were surfers, KTSM reported. 

8. Indialantic Beach, 41.02

Eight people at Indialantic Beach were attacked by sharks, and six surfers died in the rough waters.

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7. Ponce Inlet, 41.54

In Ponce Inlet, there were 34 shark attacks and two surfer deaths, KTSM reported.

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6. Ormond Beach, 41.57

This beach nearly cracked the top five most dangerous beaches in the country because of its rip currents, which claimed the lives of six surfers. 

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Florida, which has 1,350 miles of coastline, once again dominated the U.S. bite total, the study says. Percentages in these charts are approximations. (Florida Museum of Natural History’s International Shark Attack File)

5. Cocoa Beach, 46.35

Cocoa Beach waters were a shark feeding frenzy in 2023, with 26 recorded attacks in 2023, but none were fatal.

4. Miami Beach, 47.78

Miami Beach’s dangers really do not have much to do with sharks or dead surfers; it is seemingly hurricane season all the time. 

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It has experienced a total of 126 hurricanes, KTSM reported. 

Hurricanes make Miami Beach one of the most dangerous beaches. (Jeffrey Greenberg/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)

The white sands and turquoise ocean of beautiful Miami Beach, Florida, as shot from an altitude of about 500 feet during a helicopter photo flight. (Credit: iStock)

3. Daytona Beach, 60.01

Taking the bronze medal that it likely did not want is Daytona Beach, which had 141 recorded shark attacks, the second most in the country, according to KTSM. 

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2. Panama City Beach, 67.75

Last year, 32 surfers died off the coast of Panama City Beach, which was closed to the public on June 23 because of life-threatening rip currents, AL.com reported.

1. New Smyrna Beach, 76.04

Nicknamed the “shark bite capital of the world,” New Smyrna Beach recorded 186 shark attacks in 2023, and its location along the Atlantic makes it prone to hurricane devastation. 

Crowds enjoy the beach on May 29, 2021 in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. (Sean Rayford/Getty Images)

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Michael Simmrin said in a statement with the report that shark attacks “grab headlines,” but Florida’s beaches rank so high in terms of dangers because of “the ever-present hurricane risk.” 

“Hurricanes create dangerous rip currents and storm surge, raising the overall risk for beachgoers,” Simmrin said. 

“With summer approaching and vacations on the minds of many Americans, this study shows the importance of putting safety first when considering a trip to the beach.”

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GOP Rep Nancy Mace introduces ‘Death Penalty for Child Rapists Act’

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GOP Rep Nancy Mace introduces ‘Death Penalty for Child Rapists Act’

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Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., has introduced a bill to authorize the death penalty as a potential punishment for the sexual abuse of children.

“We have zero mercy for child rapists. Those who prey on our most vulnerable deserve the harshest consequence we can deliver,” Mace said in a statement.

The proposal is aptly called the “Death Penalty for Child Rapists Act.”

Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., announces she will run for South Carolina governor during a press conference at the Citadel in Charleston, South Carolina, on Aug. 4, 2025. (Tracy Glantz/The State/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)

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“No predator should be allowed to walk away from the most unthinkable crimes against children,” Mace noted. 

“This bill is simple. Rape a child and you don’t get a second chance, you get the death penalty. We will never apologize for protecting America’s children,” Mace added.

The bill would put capital punishment on the table as an option to punish those who sexually abuse children.

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Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., attends the inauguration of President-elect Donald Trump in the Rotunda of the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 20, 2025, in Washington, D.C.  (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)

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“INTRODUCING: The Death Penalty for Child Rapists Act to amend Title 18 to authorize the death penalty for aggravated sexual abuse, sexual abuse of a minor and abusive sexual contact offenses against children. It will also amend the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ) to authorize the death penalty for the rape of a child,” she said in a post on X.

“We’ve spent months fighting to expose Jeffrey Epstein’s network of powerful predators. We’ve demanded accountability and pushed for transparency. Now we’re making sure anyone who rapes a child faces the ultimate consequence,” she noted.

Mace has served in the U.S. House of Representatives since early 2021. 

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She is one of the candidates currently running in the South Carolina Republican gubernatorial primary.

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Virginia Democrats talk affordability — and vote to nearly triple their own pay

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Virginia Democrats talk affordability — and vote to nearly triple their own pay

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The Virginia State Senate and its Democratic majority may have voted to nearly triple their pay if a provision inserted into their final budget survives the House reconciliation process and reaches Gov. Abigail Spanberger’s desk.

The development comes as Spanberger has centered her campaign on “affordability,” with Richmond Democrats echoing that they are working to improve their constituents’ personal finances.

Virginia’s legislature itself was founded as a part-time, gentleman’s chamber, where lawmakers would return to their day jobs when Richmond wasn’t holding session.

Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger signs executive orders. (Win McNamee/Getty Images)

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Proponents of raising the current 1988-established salary of $18,000 for senators and $17,640 for delegates say the structure restricts who can afford to serve as a lawmaker today. Lawmakers also qualify for a $237 per diem, mileage reimbursements, and coverage of office, meeting and other expenses.

Senators’ new salary would be $50,000.

Republicans were quick to criticize the final budget, with the Virginia Senate Minority Caucus saying in a statement that “teachers got a 3% raise, but Democrats give themselves 300%.” The actual increase would be closer to 178%, though one could say the new salary would be 300% of the original. 

“The affordability hoax just gets worse and worse,” the caucus said, adding that the chamber’s majority killed a repeal of the car tax — something GOP gubernatorial nominee Winsome Sears ran on — while increasing the state budget by $1 billion overall.

Sen. Mark Obenshain, R-Rockingham, told WVTF it is the “wrong time” to address lawmaker pay.

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 “It’s supposed to be affordability for working families across Virginia, not members of the General Assembly,” he said.

Virginia’s legislature — the oldest continuous legislative body in the New World — has been making laws since its inception as the House of Burgesses in Colonial Williamsburg, where Spanberger gave the Democratic Party’s State of the Union response.

In her speech, she claimed President Donald Trump is the one “enriching himself, his family and his friends” and said Republicans are the ones “making your life more expensive.”

“I traveled to every corner of Virginia, and I heard the same pressing concern everywhere: costs are too high. In housing, healthcare, energy, and childcare,” she said.

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“Americans deserve to know that their leaders are focused on addressing the problems that keep them up at night.”

“Democrats across the country are laser-focused on affordability — in our nation’s capital and in state capitals and communities across America,” Spanberger said Tuesday.

The pay raise could be moot if the Democrat-controlled House of Delegates does not amend its own budget proposal to include the provision.

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The House’s budget includes $137 million for expanded childcare access, a minimum wage increase to $13.75 in 2027 and $15 in 2029, and a $20 million appropriation for state employees’ and home health care workers’ collective bargaining, according to Washington’s ABC affiliate.

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Fox News Digital reached out to the governor, as well as the House and Senate minority leaders, for further comment.

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Virginia murder suspect in bus stop stabbing had lengthy criminal history, multiple dropped charges

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Virginia murder suspect in bus stop stabbing had lengthy criminal history, multiple dropped charges

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A Virginia murder suspect accused of fatally stabbing a woman at a bus stop earlier this week has a lengthy criminal history filled with multiple arrests, but was let back onto the streets nearly every time. 

Abdul Jalloh, 32, is charged with the Monday night killing of Stephanie Minter, 41, of Fredericksburg, at a bus stop shelter, the Fairfax County Police Department said. 

Minter was found by officers with stab wounds to her upper body and pronounced dead at the scene, police said. 

Abdul Jalloh, 32, is accused of killing Stephanie Minter, 41, at a Virginia bus stop.  (Fairfax County Police Department; provided)

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Jalloh, 32, who was seen on surveillance cameras exiting the bus with Minter at Richmond Highway and Arlington Drive, was arrested the next day. 

He was arrested at a liquor store after an employee called 911. At the time, officers arrested him for allegedly shoplifting. Investigators linked him to the murder a day later. 

Authorities were still trying to determine a motive for the killing and what led to the deadly stabbing. 

A search of online court records revealed Jalloh has more than a dozen arrests in northern Virginia, including on charges of petty larceny and malicious wounding. 

In most of the cases, prosecutors dropped the charges, FOX D.C. reported. 

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Abdul Jalloh seen on a bus in Virginia.  (Fairfax County Police Department)

Laura Birnbaum, the chief of staff for Fairfax County Commonwealth’s Attorney Steve Descano, said Jalloh was known to the district attorney’s office and was “acutely aware of the risk he posed to the community.”

“That is why we convicted the defendant of a 2023 malicious wounding charge, and have since made every effort to hold him accountable each subsequent time that he has come in contact with the criminal justice system, including asking him to be held in custody whenever possible,” Birnbaum said. 

“Unfortunately, the defendant in this case also had a history of selecting victims with no fixed address – some of the most vulnerable members of our community,” she added. “In multiple cases, we were unable to move forward with prosecution because victims could not be located or contacted.”

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Stephanie Minter, 41, was killed on Monday after getting off of a bus in Virginia.  (Provided)

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An obituary for Minter described her as a “happy, jolly” person. 

“A beam of light in dark places,” the obituary states. 

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