This is a list of fatal shark attacks that occurred in United States territorial waters by decade in chronological order.
According to witness Martin Smith, Troy, along with a family friend, had been swimming out from the beach to meet the Black Cat, a catboat that had just picked up its mooring after a morning sail, when the shark attacked.
The Black Cat's owner, Hubert Fisher, jumped into his dinghy and, with the help of the other swimmer, Walter Stiles of Boston, got the boy aboard and took him to the beach.
Smith stated that the wind had been from the southeast the day before the attack, a condition that roils the bottom and results in poor visibility.
In the aftermath of the attack, beaches around Buzzards Bay were deserted and swimming came to a halt along much of the Massachusetts coast, the newspaper reported.