A 14-year-old boy was transported to Carteret Health Care Sunday afternoon after being bit by a shark.
According to Atlantic Beach Fire Chief Adam Snyder, the boy was a Carteret County resident and received non life-threatening injuries.
“We just took him to the hospital to get stitches and got him bandaged up,” Snyder said.
He was surfing near Dune’s Club and Oceanena Pier about 12:50 p.m. Sunday when he was bitten twice on his right leg, Snyder said. According to Snyder, the breed of shark is unknown, but two distinct bites were present.
“We’re not shark experts,” Snyder said.
While this is the first report of a shark bite from Atlantic Beach this year, Snyder said there’s no sure way to decrease the chances -- which are slim. He said the likelihood of getting bitten is about the same is getting struck by lightning, although it does happen.