Swimmer attacked by shark while crossing Southern California's Catalina Channel
The swimmer was attempting to swim the Catalina Crossing alone when his 20-mile journey was cut short.
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LOS ANGELES – A 50-year-old man was attacked by a shark while swimming from Catalina Island to the California coast while attempting to swim the Catalina Crossing in the early hours of Tuesday morning.
According to FOX 11 Los Angeles, Chris Murray was swimming alone just off Catalina Island around 1:20 a.m. when he was bitten by what officials believe was a 3-to-4-foot juvenile great white shark near Doctor's Cove.
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After the attack, Murray boarded his accompanying vessel, Bottom Scratcher, and was treated for injuries to his left hand and left foot. The crew then contacted emergency officials and was met by a Los Angeles Fire Department (LAFD) rescue boat in the middle of the Catalina Channel about 12 miles from the mainland. He was subsequently transferred to the hospital.
According to LAFD boat pilot Shaun Corby, the juvenile great white shark bit the swimmer "and then just took off."
Murray sustained minor, non-life-threatening injuries from the attack and is in stable condition, LAFD officials confirmed.
A long distance swimmer was bitten by a shark while attempting to cross the Catalina Channel. (Dave Fleetham/Design Pics Editorial/Universal Images Group / Getty Images)
The Catalina crossing, a roughly 20-mile journey from Catalina Island to the California coast, is a part of a series of marathon open water swims around the globe and is famed for its rigorous challenge. FOX 11 Los Angeles reported that Tuesday's attack was the first known attack on a Catalina crossing.
According to the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, juvenile sharks grow to about 10 feet long when they are considered mature, with adult sharks growing up to 21 feet long as primary predators of the ocean.
In 2021, some 200 miles up the coast from San Pedro, a 31-year-old man was killed by a great white shark while boogie boarding off the coast of Morro Bay.
As of July 2025, there have been 16 fatalities from great white shark attacks in California since 1950.