Second Incident at Beach Points to Shark Attacks

Amity- Amity Island beach goers witnessed a terrible incident this afternoon at Village Beach when a boy floating on a raft off shore suddenly disappeared under the water.

Alex Kintner, 10, of Mayfair Court was playing in the water with his friends when he became a victim of what appeared to be an unprovoked shark attack. The body has not been recovered, but Alex Kintner’s damaged raft washed ashore and appears to have a large bite taken out of it.

An emergency meeting was held by town officials where Police Chief Martin Brody announced the incident stating that "it appears, with emphasis on the word “appears," to have been a vicious shark attack.

“I join Amity major Bob Farley in expressing the town’s deepest and most sincere condolences to the Kintner family,” Brody said. “Now we know that these random acts of senseless violence, victimizing innocent, helpless citizens, do not just happen in the city.”

Amity Chief of Police Martin Brody witnessed the incident along with Alex Kintner’s mother, Marion Kintner and other beach goers.

Marion Kintner is being treated for shock at Amity General Hospital where she is in fair condition. No other injuries were reported.

Police officials now believe that a similar attack may have caused the death of Christine Watson late last evening.

Christine Watson, 17, a senior at Amity High School, was last seen at a beach party with Christopher Hoggenbottam, former island resident who is currently a sophomore at Trinity College.

Her body was found washed onto shore at South Beach earlier this morning after Hoggenbottam reported her missing to the police at 6 a.m.

Dr. Robert Nevin performed the autopsy on Watson’s body and initially reported that it was “severely mangled” and had wounds “consistent with [prior] boating accidents” in the area.

According to Brody, the ongoing investigation of Watson’s death is now thought to be linked to possible shark activities in the Amity vicinity.

Farley and Brody, along with the Amity Board of Selectmen, are holding a special meeting at Town Hall tonight at 6 p.m. to address possible future plans in light of the recent tragedies.

Among the discussions are Brody’s plans to close the beaches on July 4, the Kintner family’s reward of $3,000 for the capture of the perpetrators and an offer by Ben Quint, a fisherman, to hunt the shark thought to be involved in these incidents.