8-year-old boy bitten by shark on Bald Head Island in N.C.

BALD HEAD ISLAND, N.C. (WECT) - Brunswick County confirms EMS was called to Bald Head Island Sunday about a shark bite.

According to Village Manager Chris McCall, the 8-year-old boy was in the ocean when a shark grabbed him by the leg.

The call came in around 4 p.m. Sunday from S. Bald Head Wynd.

“A young boy was bitten by something to be a shark given the type of wounds sustained and assessment made by first-responders,” McCall said.

In a 911 call of the incident, a caller told Brunswick County dispatch that the boy had been bitten twice on the same leg.

McCall said the boy was initially treated by Village Public Safety Officers on the island. The boy, who has not been identified, was taken to the hospital on the Bald Head Island ferry. McCall said the injuries did not require a medevac to the hospital. He is being treated for multiple puncture wounds, but is expected to make a full recovery.

The size and type of shark is unknown at this time.

Devan Davis and his family travel to Bald Head Island every summer from Kentucky. They arrived at the beach, just a few hundred feet away from where the boy was bitten, an hour after it happened and were shocked to hear the news.

“I’ve heard about shark bites and attacks, but nothing really here so this is kind of news to me," said Davis. "It can happen anywhere, but it also might now happen. It’s not to scare people, but if you see something, get out of the water a minute, watch, and just be careful.”

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