19-year-old surfer recovering after shark bite at Ocean Isle Beach
A 19-year-old is recovering after being bitten by a shark Monday afternoon at Ocean Isle Beach.
Austin Reed was surfing with a friend around 2 p.m. when he felt a bite on his foot., according to WECT News.
"I go out there and I'm like wow the waves are really big" Reed said from his hospital bed. "I remember I told him for some reason that if any day were I to get bitten by a shark it would be today. I don't know why I said that."
Reed's mother, who is an emergency room nurse, wrapped his foot in a towel and applied pressure until paramedics arrived.
He underwent surgery at New Hanover Regional Medical Center in Wilmington.
“Austin’s one to goof around a lot, so when he told his buddy out in the ocean, he’s like, ‘Yo, I got bit by a shark.’ He didn’t believe him at first,” his brother, Ethan Reed, told WECT News.
This is the second shark bite reported off the North Carolina coast this month. On June 2, a 17-year-old girl was bitten by a shark while swimming at Atlantic Beach, according to a park ranger.
During the past decate, North Carolina has had between one and five unprovoked shark attacks per year, none of which were fatal.