A shark attacked a man swimming off the North Carolina beach on Wednesday, biting the 68-year-old several times in waist-deep water around midday, authorities said. The swimmer, who was not identified, was in waist-deep water about 30 feet from the shore of Ocracoke Island when the shark struck, biting him on his left lower torso, his hip, his lower left leg and both hands, National Park Service spokeswoman Cyndy Holda said. "His wound on his leg looked like a 5-inch gash," said North Carolina resident Lynette Holman, who was vacationing on Ocracoke with her husband. "The news spread really quickly, and everyone ran out of the water when they heard what happened." The encounter was the third attack along the North Carolina coastline since this weekend, Holda said, bringing the total number of encounters to at least six since June.
