39-Year-old Surfer Killed in Shark Attack off Californian Beach

A 39-year-old surfer, identified as Francisco Javier Solorio Jr. from Orcutt, was killed in a shark attack at a Vandenberg Air Force Base beach in California.

Soloria, an experienced surfer, was bitten in his upper torso while he was surfing with a friend who apparently pulled him to the shore. They were surfing in the ocean off the coastal Vandenberg Air Force Base on Surf Beach in Lompoc. The incident comes after months of frequent shark sightings along the central California coast.

"At 10:58 am on October 23, 2012, a 911 call came into the Sheriff's dispatch center stating a man had been bit by a shark while surfing near Surf Beach in Lompoc. A friend, who was also surfing and witnessed the shark attack, swam over to assist the victim pulling him out of the ocean and onto the beach," the Santa Barbara County sheriff's department said in a statement. "The victim's friend started first aid procedures while another surfer called 911. The Vandenberg Air Force Base Fire Department arrived and took over emergency procedures. The male victim was pronounced dead at the scene by paramedics."

This is the second of such attacks at Surf Beach, about 150 miles northwest of Los Angeles. Back in October 2010, Lucas Ransom, a 19-year-old student at the University of California, Santa Barbara was killed when a shark nearly severed his leg as he body-boarded.

The sheriff's department said the type of shark involved and other details are under investigation.