Long Island lifeguard bitten by shark during training exercise, closing Smith Point beach for the day

A lifeguard playing a victim in a training exercise became one in real life when he was bitten by a shark, authorities in Suffolk County said Sunday.

Lifeguard Zack Gallo, 33, was doing well after coming all too close to reenacting a scene from the iconic 1974 movie “Jaws,” whose plot centered around Fourth of July celebrations off Long Island.

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

A shark of unknown species, but thought to be 3 or 4 feet long, nipped Gallo in the chest and the hand off Smith Point Beach in Suffolk County Sunday, County Executive Steve Bellone said of the 10:15 a.m. incident.

The lifeguard managed to stagger out of the water, alerting his fellow trainees, who rendered aid.

“He was bleeding significantly,” Bellone said at a press conference on the beach Sunday afternoon, adding that Gallo was “at the hospital getting stitched up.”

“He received two stitches to his hand,” spokesperson Nicole Russo told the Daily News. “None to his chest.”

Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone holds a press conference Sunday on the beach in Smith Point. (Facebook/)

Smith Point, about 70 miles east of New York City, was closed for the day, as was neighboring Cupsogue Beach County Park in Westhampton Beach. Bellone said the beaches were going to be open on Monday for Independence Day revelers.

Officials and drones will monitor the water from now on, especially in the wake of a possible attack on Thursday at Jones Beach.

“We will continue to monitor with the use of jet skis, paddle boards, drones and other watercraft,” Russo told The News.

Bellone expressed relief that it hadn’t been worse.

“If you’re going to have an encounter with a shark, this is probably the best scenario,” Bellone said, noting the irony of the victim portrayer becoming a victim himself.

There had been another shark sighting nearby, Bellone said, though it wasn’t clear whether it was the same shark. He said attacks like this are rare on Long Island, but that shark-related incidents are rising.