Wrightsville Beach Fire Department Chief Glen Rogers said it happened around 1:30 p.m. Tuesday.
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The boy's family said he was in waist-deep water and was jumping in the waves. When he got up he felt pain and noticed he was bitten on the right calf.
The family says the boy saw a gray fin swimming away after he was bitten.
Lifeguards called 911 Ocean Rescue and the police department to respond.
"He's in pain of course, but the doctors took really good care of him," one family member said.
According to the boy's family, he got 15 stitches.
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Nobody got a good look at the animal that bit the teen, but officials believe it was a shark. Rogers said he guesses it was a wide mouth sand shark.
Video shows shark come terrifyingly close to 6-year-old girl at beach in Hawaii
Video shows shark come terrifyingly close to 6-year-old girl at beach in Hawaii