7-Year-Old Girl Attacked By Shark At North Carolina Beach

A 7-year-old girl was attacked by a shark while at a North Carolina Beach.

The young girl was visiting Ocean Isle Beach on Sunday morning (June 27) with her parents when she was "nipped" on the calf by a shark, the New York Post reports. According to Mayor Debbie Smith, it is unclear if either of the girls parents were in the water at the time of the incident.

Emergency responders arrived at the scene around 11 a.m. and took the girl to a local hospital to receive treatment for non-life threatening injuries. According to The Post, Mayor Smith called the girl "quite brave" after she received a few stitches and was released from the hospital.

Though shark attacks are rare, officials still urge caution to all beachgoers.

"You should always be cautious when you're in the water at the beach and just use good common sense, and to be alert," said Smith. "But this is not a common occurrence."

As of Wednesday, officials were unsure of what type of shark bit the girl, but given the size of the bit they believe it is relatively small.

Sunday's attack preceded reports that a large great white shark was spotted off the North Carolina coast. Following the incident, Smith said there were no other sightings of sharks in the area and no additional warnings were given to swimmers.