Surfer suffers shark bite in Cocoa Beach

Shark bites man's foot in shallow water near pier

COCOA BEACH, Fla. – Bobby Baughman's toes may be hard to wiggle, but he feels lucky he didn't lose his right foot during a shark attack.

"These two toes hurt a lot to move," the life-long surfer told WKMG-TV.

The 30-year-old was in the water riding a wave near the Cocoa Beach pier when he was attacked.

"As soon as I pushed off the bottom, I felt something clamp on to me," said Baughman. "I felt my leg get pulled this way and that way and it started shaking back and forth and that's when I realized it was a shark."

Baughman says the shark wouldn't let go of his foot.

"I just grabbed him and tried to pull him off my foot. I just squeezed as hard as I could."

The shark finally released Baughman, giving him the chance to swim back to shore.

"I wanted to get out of there as quick as possible before he had time to make up his mind whether he liked the taste of that or not," Baughman said.

Baughman was bandaged at the beach and, with the help of friends, eventually went to a local hospital.

The shark left a large gash in Baughman's foot and he says tendons and ligaments in his foot were damaged.

He'll have surgery Wednesday on his foot, where a shark tooth remains.