Shark attack victim was engineering student, outdoorsman

Wellfleet, Mass. (AP) — A 26-year-old man who was killed in a shark attack off a Cape Cod beach had been a part-time engineering student who was engaged to be married and loved surfing and other outdoor activities, according to friends and school officials.

Arthur Medici, of Revere, Mass., was bitten by a shark Saturday while boogie boarding off Newcomb Hollow Beach in Wellfleet and later died at a hospital. He was the state's first shark attack fatality in more than 80 years and the second attack victim this summer on Cape Cod.

The beach remained closed to swimming Sunday. Flowers were placed at the base of a sign that said “No swimming surfing etc. until further notice,” but some people were paddleboarding in the water, the Boston Herald reported.

A shark was spotted several miles south of Wellfleet on Sunday, according to the Atlantic White Shark Conservancy.

Medici was a part-time engineering student at Bunker Hill Community College in Boston last spring, the school said in a statement Sunday. It did not provide any other information about his studies including why he wasn't enrolled in the current semester. The school offered condolences to Medici's family and friends.

He moved to the U.S. from Brazil two years ago to attend college, friends told WCVB-TV.

A GoFundMe page set up by family and friends to cover funeral costs had raised more than $16,000 as of Sunday afternoon.

“Arthur was a very happy young man,” said a posting on the page. “He loved life, he was an active member of a Christian church, devoting his life to the Lord . ... He loved hiking, biking, surfing and various other sports . ... He was always joyful and willing to help others, even going as far as feeding the homeless.

“He was happily engaged to a smart, kind-hearted medical student with a bright future,” it continued. “Our lives are never going to be the same without him. His laughter filled our home and he will be greatly missed by us all.”

There also was an outpouring of condolences on his Facebook page .