The Amity Island Incident
—Jason

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The United States annually launches massive celebrations commemorating its official anniversary on 4 July. Fireworks, barbeques, carnivals, vacations, and beach trips have all been incorporated into this celebration of the American lifestyle.  Many coastal towns see an influx of tourists during this holiday which helps bolster the local economies.  Tragedies are often associated with this American holiday as a result of unexpected elements because in many cases, the influx of money into the towns out ways the safety of people.  In 1975, Amity, an idyllic island tourist town off the coast of New York, was the site of a series of both natural and manmade events that shook the local populace.

Beginning on the night of 28 June, Amity’s peaceful summer season was thrown into chaos with the disappearance of swimmer Chrissy Watkins.  Ms. Watkins had been at a beachside gathering of teenagers when she and her friend decided to go for a late-night swim.  Her companion, who had enjoyed too much alcohol, passed out along a sand dune while Watkins disappeared after entering the surf.

Amity Police Chief Martin Brody was informed at the station of a missing person and organized a small search team the next morning.  While combing the beach, Ms. Watkins remains were discovered.  Upon investigation by the local medical examiner, it was initially determined that she was a victim of a shark attack.  Chief Brody decided that the best course of action would be to shut the beaches down until the shark was either caught or moved to a different location.  

Despite this horrific attack, Mayor Larry Vaughn and members of the Amity city council coerced Chief Brody to reopen the beaches.  Mayor Vaughn feared that releasing the news of shark would drive tourists away from Amity’s beaches, crippling the local economy.  The city council was also able to force the medical examiner to falsify the death certificate stating that Ms. Watkins died after being hit by a boat propeller.  Brody repeatedly attempted to convince Mayor Vaughn that the danger would not simply go away by ignoring it but was pressured to acquiesce.

The events of the afternoon of 29 June realized Brody’s fears in horrific fashion.  As dozens of swimmers frolicked in the water, a young boy named Alex Kintner was attacked and killed by a large shark.  Kintner’s death was witnessed by everyone on the beach and in the water.  Brody was crushed by the knowledge that his complicity in falsifying Watkins’s death certificate allowed another victim to be attacked.

At a town meeting on that evening, Vaughn and the city council members were forced to finally acknowledge the predator that was patrolling their beaches.  Once again, their hesitancy to lose tourist dollars limited their response.  Kintner’s mother put an independently raised bounty for the destruction of the animal responsible for her son’s death.  At the meeting, Sam Quint, a local shark fisherman, stated he was willing to kill the shark but for a much larger fee of $10,000.  The council members dismissed Quint’s offer and decided to allow amateur fishermen to hunt the animal.

Between 30 June and 2 July, the bounty money attracted not only locals, but also volunteers from far and wide.  These amateurish attempts only added further chaos as the hunters came dangerously close to injuring each other.  A tiger shark was caught and killed by fishermen on 2 July and Vaughn announced the threat had been eliminated.  The mayor argued with both Chief Brody and the recently arrived oceanographer Dr. Matt Hooper that “tomorrow is the 4th of July for Christ sakes and beaches will be open.”

Hooper had been contacted by Brody and arrived at Amity Island to offer his experience on 1 July.  Hooper first examined Watkins’ remains and confirmed the original cause of death as a large shark attack.  He also studied the recently caught tiger shark’s jaws and realized that they did not meet the teeth pattern which Hooper had measured on Watkins, but the mayor refused to listen   Once again, the fear of lost tourists and revenue had driven Vaughn to defy logic and keep the beaches open.

Brody and Hooper attempted to mitigate the potential of shark attacks on 4 July by organizing patrol both in the water and on the beach.  As the day wore on, more and more people entered the water.  Predictably, the peaceful day was shattered when the great white shark entered channel that connected to a small lagoon where local children were gathered.  The victim of this attack was a man attempting to aid Michael Brody, the police chief’s son, and his friends control their small sailboat.  The younger Brody was thrown into the water after his vessel capsized and reported the terrifying experience of having the great white swim past him.

It was this tragedy that finally forced Vaughn and the city council to hire Quint.  Brody cornered the shaken mayor to gain the signature to finalize the contract.  The reality of the situation and dangers faced by everyone on the island finally broke Vaughn’s adamant refusal to act.  It was only the threat to Vaughn’s personal life, his son had been in the water near the attack, which finally overrode his economic and political objections.

Quint, Brody, and Hooper sailed off the coast of Amity Island between 5 and 6 July to hunt the rampaging great white.  After gathering supplies, the men boarded Quint’s boat, The Orca, intent on slaying the rogue shark.  A daytime encounter with the animal confirmed that this was a much larger shark than had been previously estimated: anywhere between 20 and 25 feet long.  The first day’s attempts at killing the shark ended in failure.

The next day almost proved the undoing of the entire expedition: while Hooper was diving to poison it, the great white crippled The Orca far out at sea.  Quint and Brody believed that Hooper had been killed shortly before they been attacked.  The Orca began sinking at the stern when the shark attacked and killed Quint.  Quick thinking, and good aiming, by Brody ended the threat of the shark when he killed it via shooting an air tank wedged in its mouth.  While Brody was collecting himself in the wreckage of The Orca, Hooper broke the surface, and the two survivors swam back to the island to give a full account of their misadventure.

What should be remembered about these events is despite the repeated warnings of the police force and oceanographic experts, the mayor and town council of Amity Island further exacerbated an increasingly dangerous situation for their personal gain.  No legal civil or criminal actions were actively taken against the politicians or police department.  Amity simply hoped to resume its pre-tragedy status as a peaceful tourist destination.