Shark attack fatal to Romoland resident

A 19-year-old college student from Riverside County was killed in a shark attack today at Surf Beach on the Vandenberg Air Force Base.

Lucas McKaine Ransom of Romoland was boogie boarding on the break line about 100 yards from the beach in Lompoc with a friend when the shark attacked him this morning, according to the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office.

When investigators arrived, Ransom had been pulled ashore by his friend and other witnesses, but Air Force base paramedics pronounced him dead at the scene, according to the sheriff.

The UC Santa Barbara junior, who was majoring in chemical engineering, suffered a massive wound to his left leg and bled to death, according to authorities.

The shark was about 14 to 20 feet long, authorities said.

Air Force base officials closed all of the base’s beaches for the next three days.