A Northridge man whose son was bitten by a shark off the coast of Central California is speaking out on Monday after his son was attacked and seriously injured during their fishing trip
Armen Azatian and his son Grigor were spearfishing at Stillwater Cove, near Pebble Beach, when the incident occurred on Friday.
The two had been in a boat, and visibility was good at the time — about 50 feet — when Grigor dove around 40 feet, Armen told KTLA in a phone interview Monday. That was when the shark came in toward him “from nowhere,” saw the 25-year-old, and changed directions while the son tried to get back to the boat to warn his father.
“It just happened so suddenly,” Armen said.
The shark bit his leg, causing massive damage to his muscle. He also suffered minor injuries to his left arm and had bite marks on his gloves.
The shark “didn’t let him go in the beginning,” the father said.
Armen then recounted the terrifying moments of hearing his screams.
“He was screaming … I heard his screams,” he told KTLA, adding that he hadn’t heard his son cry since he was a young boy — maybe 2 or 3 years old, he said. “When I heard his scream, I realized it was must be something super big to make him scream that badly.”
Grigor somehow managed to swim back to the boat, and his father drove them to a pier near the Pebble Beach Golf Course.
Two off-duty Monterey County sheriff’s deputies came to the son’s aid, jumping in to help until Grigor was taken to a hospital.
Since Friday, the son has undergone two surgeries, with a third scheduled for Tuesday.
“So far he’s recovering well,” Armen said.
He is hopeful Grigor will make a full recovery, but it won’t be clear until after the third surgery if he will have any long-term damage from his wounds, he said.
Grigor, who graduated from the University of California at Irvine three years ago with a degree in biology, lives in Northridge with his parents. He went back to school to become a software programmer and is currently studying at College of the Canyons in Santa Clarita, according to Armen.
The son could be coming home this week if the surgery goes well.
But for now, Armen is thankful Grigor survived, saying he’s “so lucky my son is alive.”