SALVO, N.C. (WGHP) — A shark bit a teenage boy Thursday in the waters at Cape Hatteras.
The 16-year-old from Oak Ridge was jumping over waves with his sister and dad about 25 feet away from the shore, about 2.5 miles from Salvo, when the shark bit him on his leg.
Tim Arthur, the boy’s father, told WGHP he heard his son scream and saw him fighting the shark.
At first, the victim, Nick Arthur, said blood and sand mixed together in the surf didn’t allow him to see what exactly was happening.
“The pressure was so intense,” Nick Arthur said. “I tried lifting my leg up out of the water and I thought ‘Oh my God, I have a shark attached to my leg’.”
The shark was holding onto his son’s thigh, and the boy was trying to hit the shark with his hand.
Dad Tim Arthur swam over and started kicking and punching the shark to get it off his son. It let go once Arthur kicked it in the nose.
He suffered non-life-threatening injuries and required 17 stitches. The teenager was released later that night. He is now using crutches.
Arthur counted more than 40 teeth marks.
The family says they are still at the beach as of Friday and plan to stay for a few more days.
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