Shark bites child swimming at North Carolina beach, causing minor injuries, cops say
A shark bit a 9-year-old boy in shallow water off the North Carolina coast, causing minor injuries, officials said.
The child was swimming at an Oak Island beach when a “juvenile or small species of shark” bit him on the shoulder, according to the town’s police department.
“The family was able to drive the child to Dosher Memorial Hospital in Southport, where he was treated and released,” police wrote in a news release. “According to photos provided by the family, bite marks and a small wound were visible, though no major injuries were sustained, and stitches were not needed.”
Officers in Oak Island, roughly 30 miles south of Wilmington, said the bite was reported to them Wednesday, Aug. 23. It happened near the Southeast 46th Street Beach Access, police said.
The child was in the area when he and a relative went into about 2 to 3 feet of water. They reportedly noticed “small fish jumping out of the water” before the shark bit the boy.
“Although the reason for the bite is unclear, this appears to be an isolated incident,” officials wrote, adding that the town’s Beach Services Unit was monitoring the water after the incident.
Shark attacks
Shark attacks are “extremely rare,” according to John Carlson of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
“You have a better chance of getting in a car accident and being injured on your way to the beach than you do actually when you get to go swimming,” he said in a video posted to NOAA’s website.
In 2022, the Florida Museum of Natural History’s International Shark Attack File investigated 108 shark-human interactions worldwide. Of those interactions, 57 were unprovoked shark bites, and there were nine “shark-related fatalities.”
If you see a shark in the water, however, don’t panic, Richard Peirce, former chair of the Shark Trust and Shark Conservation Society, told CNN.
“Don’t start splashing around — you’re just going to excite, incite and encourage the shark’s interest,” he told the news outlet.
Instead, maintain eye contact with the shark and read its body language. If the shark appears to be in “attack mode,” you should make yourself as large as possible, CNN reported. If it seems to just be swimming by, try to stay small.
“You must try and keep the animal in sight and very slowly and gently try and swim backwards and get into shallow water,” Peirce told CNN. “Again, you’ve got to be careful — large sharks can attack in very shallow depths.”
This story was originally published August 24, 2023 at 7:57 AM with the headline "Shark bites child swimming at North Carolina beach, causing minor injuries, cops say."
