Share on LinkedIn

NORTH TOPSAIL BEACH, N.C. (WECT/Gray News) - A teen is recovering in the hospital after being bitten by a shark at a North Carolina beach.

Blayne Brown, 14, was visiting North Topsail Beach from West Virginia over the weekend when the bite occurred.

North Topsail Beach Chief William Younginer said the bite took place at county beach access 4, which is located at 474 New River Inlet Road.

Blayne said he’s always been a little afraid of the ocean, specifically because of sharks, but it wasn’t something he thought would happen to him.

“It’s just really traumatizing and scary,” he said. “I didn’t know what bit me or anything. I just felt it and ran. Then I was screaming. My grandma was holding my hand, and I was like, ‘I’m not going to be OK. I’m going to lose my leg.’”

According to police, North Topsail Beach hasn’t experienced a shark bite since 2018.

Blayne’s close family friend Makinley Gore said she was in the water with him when it all happened and even saw the shark’s fin.

She said it all still doesn’t feel real.

“I remember turning back and looking at Blayne and I told him, ‘Hey, you got bitten by a shark. I saw it,’” Gore said.

It was a moment she said no one could have ever prepared her for.

“I heard Blayne saying, ‘I got bit, I got bit,’” Gore said.

Blayne is on the road to recovery and has been given a few staples in his leg to close his wound.

The 14-year-old said he has already begun to walk around on his crutches.

Younginer said Blayne is a true champion and hopes they can meet once he is all recovered.

“I look forward to seeing him walk through the doors here one day and speak to the officers and EMS workers who were there that day,” Younginer said.

First responders said they were able to respond to Blayne’s injuries within a couple of minutes after beachgoers helped flag them down.

Blayne says he knows he is lucky and is just grateful it wasn’t worse.

According to Younginer, bystanders were already applying pressure, and police applied a tourniquet to him too. The 14-year-old was then moved to the Camp Lejeune Naval Hospital.

Beach police said people should not be afraid to go into the ocean but be aware of their surroundings as sharks live in the water.

Blayne said he is expected to be released from the hospital on Tuesday.