UPDATE: Teen describes shark encounter at Atlantic Beach

A Bertie County teenager is nursing a wrist injury after fire officials say a shark bit him while he was visiting the Crystal Coast over the weekend.

18-year-old Dillon Bowen talked exclusively with WITN's Mackenzie Roberts Sunday. He says he was enjoying a day at Atlantic Beach with family and friends before the unthinkable happened.

Bowen says he was standing waist-deep in the ocean with his younger brother and a friend when they saw a shark.

"As soon as I turned around, it grabbed me," Bowen explained. And I went to go swing and I hit it and it let me go and it was just a mess of blood."

Bowen was transported to Carteret General Hospital where he says he received 26 stitches in his right wrist. "It just happened so quick and I was in such a shock, it just scared me," he said.

Atlantic Beach fire captain Eric Stephenson says the attack took place just to the west of the Atlantic Beach Circle around 2:30 Saturday afternoon.

The beach was never closed and Stephenson says there have been no reported shark sightings Sunday.

Stephenson says, "We just like to tell people to try and stay within the area of the main beach where it is guarded by the town lifeguards. Use caution when they're in the water."

Bowen says he will also need surgery and possibly some physical therapy. Saturday was his first time at the beach in several years, and he says he doesn't plan on going back anytime soon.

Captain Stephenson says this is the first shark bite they've seen in Atlantic Beach this year.

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A teenager is receiving medical treatment for a shark bite at Atlantic Beach Saturday afternoon, officials say.

The Atlantic Beach Fire Department and EMS responded to the emergency call around 2:30 p.m.

Fire Chief Adam Snyder says an 18-year-old man was on vacation and went swimming in the water just west of the Atlantic Beach Circle.

Snyder says the 18-year-old has deep wounds on his right hand. He was transported to Carteret General Hospital.

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Atlantic Beach officials say that one person has been transported to the hospital following a shark bite Saturday afternoon.

The shark encounter was reported around 2:30 p.m.

We're waiting to hear back from police for more details.

Officials tell us the beach was not closed at any point, and remains open at this time.