Southern California beach closes after sighting of great white shark ‘exhibiting aggressive behavior’

A popular southern California beach was closed after a great white shark was reportedly spotted “exhibiting aggressive behavior” on Tuesday afternoon.

The Huntington Beach fire department said there was a “credible report” of a 10-12ft great white shark circling near a lifeguard tower, which is considered aggressive behavior according to the city’s marine safety division’s “shark response protocols”.

Officials closed a two-mile long stretch of beach near the tower between Seapoint and the Huntington Beach pier through Wednesday afternoon, and said workers had posted warning signs and notified visitors.