A woman was rushed to hospital in New York City on Monday evening after what officials characterized as a possible shark attack at a local beach. Just before 6 p.m. at Rockaway Beach in Queens, the 50-year-old woman suffered a “major injury” to her left leg consistent with “a shark bite,” the New York City Fire Department told the New York Daily News in a statement. The woman was hospitalized and underwent surgery, and was in critical but stable condition on Monday night, Spectrum News NY1 reported. If confirmed, it would be the area’s first shark attack since 1953. Any possible bite was likely exploratory, Christopher Paparo, marine lab manager at Stony Brook University, told the Daily News. “It took a bite, realized I can’t eat this, and moved on,” Paparo said. The incident comes after alleged shark sightings at the Rockaways caused local officials to shutter the beach for part of last summer.