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North Carolina Shark Attack: 13-Year-Old Girl Injured At Ocean Isle

By Dustin Wicksell
Published on: 12:38 PST, Jun 11, 2015

A 13-year-old girl has been injured in a shark attack that occurred earlier today off a beach in North Carolina and was left shaken after suffering lacerations to her foot.

The incident took place around 12:45 p.m. on Thursday (June 11) near Monroe Street in Ocean Isle Beach, according to WNCN. The 13-year-old girl, who has not yet been identified, reported that she was body boarding when the shark attacked her, biting both her and the board. Mayor Debbie Smith asserted that the shark lacerated the girl’s foot, though the injuries are not considered severe.

A 911 call placed during the incident related that the shark bit into the girl’s right foot, according to ABC News.

“It got ahold of her foot and bit her board in half,” the caller said.

The girl’s medical status in the wake of the attack has not been reported at this time. Though the shark that bit her is believed to have been roughly four feet long, the species also has yet to be identified.

Witness Alexa Whittemore described the shark attack as a surreal incident, according to WWAY, saying she wondered if the victim would still have her legs after it was over.

“She wobbled out and left the boogie board and [the shark] just went at the boogie,” she recalled.

Earlier this week, a 10-year-old boy was attacked by a bull shark while playing in shallow water at Cocoa Beach, Florida. As the Inquisitr previously reported, his injuries were more severe than those reported in the North Carolina attack, and he was taken by helicopter to an Orlando-area hospital. More than 10 shark bites have been reported in that part of Florida this year, according to Brevard Ocean Rescue officials.

Over the course of the last year, a variety of shark species have been reported off the North Carolina coastline. Thanks to the efforts of non-profit group Ocearch, several great white and tiger sharks have been tracked in the region. Earlier today, an unusually large tiger shark, named Chessie, signaled from the Cape Fear River, having departed Charleston for North Carolina.

Beach patrols are currently monitoring the area where the attack occurred, though they have not reported sighting any sharks.

[Photo by Marc Schulman via Twitter/ WSOCTV]

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