PERRIS (CBS) — A funeral mass is expected to be held Wednesday for a 19-year-old Romoland man who was killed by a shark near Vandenberg Air Force Base.

Lucas McKaine Ransom died Friday after he was attacked by a large shark, which may have been a great white.

The former Perris High School swimmer, who was majoring in chemical engineering at UC Santa Barbara, was body-boarding with friends at Surf Beach when the animal severed his leg.

The young man’s close friend, Matthew Garcia, said the attack last Friday lasted a few seconds, and that Ransom had no warning that he was in danger.

A viewing, rosary and Mass for Ransom will be held at 5 p.m. at St. James Catholic Church, 269 W. 3rd St.

A memorial service is also scheduled for 10 a.m. Thursday at Evans Brown Mortuary in Perris, near the young man’s family’s home.

Friends and family also plan to gather at 4:30 p.m. Thursday at the main pier in Oceanside for a tribute, during which mourners will paddle out on surfboards to spread flowers in Ransom’s honor.

In 2007, Ransom was recognized by the city of Murrieta for saving a drowning boy at a pool.

“He was one of those kids you look at and say, he’s going to do something great someday,” Nick Hilton, Perris High School’s assistant principal, told The Press-Enterprise last week.

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