WAILUKU, Hawaii — A surfer holding his 8-year-old son says he punched and smacked a shark with his board to stop an attack off Maui.
Kaleo Roberson tells the Maui News that he was surfing Saturday with 20 others — including his twin 8-year-old sons and a 6-year-old son — off Maalaea when a 12- to 14-foot tiger shark appeared.
Roberson didn’t see the shark until it was a few feet away. He remembers a wide-open mouth with teeth coming at him. No one was injured.
Roberson says he slid to the side of his board and hit the shark’s nose with his hand. He also kicked it and swung his board at the animal twice before paddling to shore.
The shark left a 14-inch-long bite near the tail of the surfboard.
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