8-Year-Old Boy Injured After Shark Bites Him Off North Carolina Beach, Police Say
— -- An 8-year-old boy was injured after apparently being bitten by a shark today in Surf City, North Carolina -- at least the third recent incident on the state's coastline, according to police.
The boy, whose name has not been released, suffered "minor leg and foot injuries" from what appeared to be a "small shark bite," the Surf City Police Department told ABC News.
"The wounds were superficial and not considered serious," police said, "but Surf City Police and Pender East EMS responded and provided on scene treatment."
Today's attack comes less than two weeks after attacks just 65 miles away in Oak Island, NC that left a teen and 12-year-old with amputated limbs and another that left a 10-year-old boy injured in central Florida.
The child's parents took him to have the bite further assessed at Scott's Hill Emergency Room after the 12:30 p.m. incident, police said.
"I believe he’s back home or back at the place they were in vacation and generally in pretty good shape," Surf City Town Manager Larry Bergman told ABC News today, "so they just wanted to make sure it got cleaned out and checked."
He added that shark attacks are "so rare" and there are a lot of people enjoying the beach.
"The town’s open for business, and we’re doing all we can to make sure people are safe while they’re here," Bergman said. He added that the whole beach was never officially cleared and that police probably just informally cleared the immediate area near where the boy was bitten.
In Oak Island, Kiersten Yow, 12, was bitten two times during a shark attack, authorities said.
She lost a portion of her left arm below the elbow, authorities said. Doctors were able to save her left leg, and she reportedly walked again for the first time this Monday, according to a Facebook support page created for her.
A 16-year-old boy was also attacked just 90 minutes after Yow's incident at another North Carolina beach about two miles away from where Yow was attacked. A shark bit off Hunter Treschl's left arm above the elbow in that incident, authorities said.
A vacationer also captured video of a shark on the North Carolina beach where Yow was recently was bitten, just two days after the twin shark attacks.
The reason why shark attacks are on the rise could be the result of people seeking more fun in the oceans, experts say.
