Eighth Shark Attack in North Carolina Since Start of June Reported Over Fourth of July Weekend

By Kevin Byrne, AccuWeather.com Staff Writer

July 6,2015; 9:17PM,EDT

 

A 32-year-old Marine was hospitalized on Saturday, July 4, after being bitten by a shark near Surf City, North Carolina, WITN-TV reports.
The victim was treated at the Naval Hospital at Camp Lejeune in Jacksonville, North Carolina, for lacerations to his forearm and right hand after being admitted around 10:40 p.m. He was released about five hours later, according to WITN.
Saturday's attack is the eighth reported incident off the North Carolina coast and the second in Surf City since the beginning of June. Since May 15, three additional attacks have been reported off the coast of South Carolina.
The first attack this year in Surf City occurred June 24 after an 8-year-old boy was bitten by a shark in knee-deep water. The boy suffered minor leg injuries.
After the incident, Surf City's Town Manager, Larry Bergman, told the Associated Press that while police beach patrols would be increased, there were no plans to warn visitors or instruct swimmers to stay out of the water.

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On June 11, a 13-year-old girl suffered minor injures after a shark bit her boogie board near Ocean Isle Beach, North Carolina.
Two separate attacks were reported only one hour apart on June 14 near Oak Island, North Carolina. The victims, a 13-year-old girl and a 16-year-old boy, requried an arm amputation.
On June 26, a 47-year-old male suffered injuries to his right leg and lower back after swimming 1 mile north of the Avon Fishing Pier in Avon, North Carolina. A 17-year-old male was attacked June 27 off the coast of Waves, North Carolina. Both attacks happened in the Cape Hatteras National Seashore area.
Several days later, on July 1, also along Cape Hatteras, a 68-year-old male was bitten swimming near Ocracoke Island, North Carolina. The man was flown off the island for treatment at Vidant Medical Center in Greenville, North Carolina.

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