WELLFLEET, MASS. (WHDH) - More than 100 people gathered on the shores of Newcomb Hollow Beach Sunday for a candlelight vigil one day after a man was killed by a shark.
The memorial was held to honor the life of Arthur Medici, the 26-year-old Revere man who was boogie boarding with a friend when he was bitten by a shark off a beach in Wellfleet.
The victim’s friend, Isaac Rocha, was about five to 10 yards from Medici when the attack occurred.
It’s something you see in a movie that you think, “Oh, that will never happen to me, ever,'” Rocha said. “I just see him go into the water and he popped back up, started screaming, and I see blood, and I see, like, the shark tail.”
Police say Medici was bitten in the legs by a shark around 12 p.m. on Saturday.
Rocha says he did all he could to try and save his friend’s life.
“I swam as fast as I could to him and got him, pulled him about 35 to 40 yards to the shore,” Rocha said. “I got one of the boogie board straps and tied it around his body to make a tourniquet.”
Medici was rushed to the hospital, where he later died from his injuries.
“He’s super athletic, charismatic, loving,” Rocha said. “He always wanted the best for people.”
Medici was born in Brazil and later moved to the U.S. He was studying engineering at Bunker Hill Community College.
“He has a big heart,” Rocha said. “His legacy will most definitely live on forever.”
A Go Fund Me page was set up by family and friends, with the funds going toward Medici’s funeral and his family.
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