A family getaway to the Outer Banks of North Carolina took a scary turn this week when a teen boy was attacked by a shark. Nick Arthur, 16, and his family, from Oak Ridge, were visiting Cape Hatteras National Seashore Thursday, and Nick decided to take a dip in the water. His dad, Tim Arthur, could see Nick leaping over the waves on a sandbar about 25 feet from shore, when suddenly his son started yelling. "At first I thought he was screaming out of joy," Arthur tells CNN. "Then I looked at him and saw the shark," which had latched onto Nick's thigh. "He was screaming 'Get it off me. Let me go,' and I jumped into action."
As Nick's daughter swam to safety, Arthur and his son kicked and hit the shark, until finally the shark let go of Nick's leg to take a swipe at his hand. The two got back to shore, and Nick was taken to a nearby hospital for treatment, per the National Park Service. WRAL has photos of some of Nick's injuries, which included dozens of teeth marks on his thigh and teeth scrapes on his hand. He needed 17 stitches on his leg, as well as more on his thumb, but his dad says he's going to be OK, with no permanent damage expected. Nick was released from the hospital Thursday night. The News & Observer notes North Carolina had at least three shark attacks last year, involving two teens and an 8-year-old. The state had the third largest number of such attacks in the country in 2019. (More shark attack stories.)
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