Last week in Jamaica, 16-year-old Jahmari Reid’s body was recovered from the sea in Falmouth, Trelawny and it is suspected that he fell victim to a tiger shark attack while spearfishing.

The tiger shark attack is yet to be confirmed and an investigation, autopsy and pathologist report will have to take place. An oceanographer should also be brought in to determine whether this was indeed a shark attack. 

Jahmari Reid from Trelawny was fond of spearfishing and set out at 6 am on Monday, August 26. His body was discovered the following day, with an arm floating in the sea and a headless torso.

Second to the Great White, tiger sharks are responsible for many unprovoked attacks on humans. They are opportunistic feeders and are very aggressive. 

A mature tiger shark can grow anywhere from 10 to 15 feet long and weigh between 850 pounds and 14,00 pounds. It is a big fish capable of overwhelming a teenage boy.

More often than not, the attack from a tiger shark takes place vertically with it coming up from the depths.

With an arm missing and a headless corpse, this incident leads to many questions.

Yes, a grown tiger shark is capable of doing this but with a predation event coming close to shore why did it not feed on the body?

The attack must have taken place on Monday, yet the body was discovered floating in the sea on Tuesday. Why didn’t the shark feed on what was an obvious kill?

Humans are not generally a part of a big shark’s diet. Could it be it decapitated the head, consumed it, and found it unpalatable and decided not to feed on the body?

Perhaps, but that leads to even more questions.

What is clear is that Jahmari Reid was subjected to tremendous force trauma by something that severed his head and arm.

Locals from the Falmouth area say this is the first deadly shark attack reported in the vicinity.

There have only been three recorded fatal shark attacks in Jamaica since 1749. Tiger and bull sharks have been seen in Jamaican waters.

Fisherman Michael Simpson of Clarendon lost an arm to a tiger shark while fishing and was taken to Lionel Town Hospital. He believes the tiger shark that attacked him is also responsible for other attacks on fishermen.

Big killer sharks are wary by nature. They bump and prod unfamiliar prey, testing and ensuring they can overwhelm their victims. More often than not they are looking to feed and do not kill indiscriminately.

In 2022, Simon Nellist from the UK was attacked and killed by a Great White. The attack was recorded. Here the Great White attacked Nellist in Little Bay, Sydney, Australia killing him first before consuming his body. The video is graphic and demonstrates how these ocean predators set upon their prey.

Last year, a big tiger shark attacked and killed a 23-year-old Russian man, Vladimir Popov, on the beach of the tourist hotspot, Hurghada which is on the shores of Egypt’s Red Sea. The 10-foot pregnant tiger shark inflicted serious damage before dragging the body down to the depths and consuming it. Again this was caught on video. Yet again the predation concludes with consumption.

What is bizarre about the Jahmari Reid situation is that his remains were discovered on the sea on Tuesday with a big tiger shark said to be swimming near the corpse, nearly a day after he went missing. Was he attacked on Monday and his body found the following day? Would a tiger shark not take literally minutes to attack and consume its victim? 

Maybe while diving he startled the tiger shark and it reacted defensively. Tiger sharks can be territorial and perhaps saw Jahmari as a threat and attacked him. This may explain why it did not feed as expected.

There are questions here. It is reported that locals want to capture this shark to recover the boy’s head from its stomach.

That would be conclusive and bring closure of sorts to this unfortunate case of how young Jahmari Reid met his end.