Shark may have bitten teen swimming off popular North Carolina beach, officials say
A teenager was bitten by what officials and doctors believe was a shark off a North Carolina beach last week.
The 15-year-old, who was visiting from Tennessee with his family, was about waist-deep in the ocean at Wrightsville Beach on Tuesday when he felt something bite his leg, his parents, Ivan and Rachel Nekrasov, told McClatchy News on Sunday.
He then told his parents and sister, who were in the ocean closer to shore, that he had been bitten and to get out of the water, his parents said.
Rachel Nekrasov told McClatchy that the family was “hit by the fact” that his first concern was for them.
“The first words out of his mouth were to protect us,” she said.
The teen was bleeding “pretty badly” when he got out of the water, his parents said, so they applied pressure on the wound with a beach towel while their other son went to get help from a lifeguard, who called EMS.
Wrightsville Beach Town Manager Tim Owens told WECT that emergency personnel were called to the beach around 1:30 p.m. and tended to the teen’s injury after he walked out of the ocean.
The teen was then taken to an orthopedic hospital, where he got 15 stitches, his parents said.
Ivan Nekrasov said the doctors who worked on the wound said the teen was likely bitten by a small shark that was between 3-4 feet long.
The teen also saw a gray fin swimming away after the bite, his parents said.
Officials told WTVD no one else “got a good look” at the animal that bit the teen, but they believe it was a shark. Wrightsville Beach Fire Department Chief Glen Rogers told the outlet that it was likely a wide-mouth sand shark.
The teen’s parents said he is doing “really well” now and able to walk around without crutches. They said they’re thankful for the crews and medical staff that helped him and thankful that the bite wasn’t worse.
This story was originally published August 1, 2021 at 11:15 AM with the headline "Shark may have bitten teen swimming off popular North Carolina beach, officials say."
