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by WILL FOLKS
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A teenager was bitten by a shark in Garden City, South Carolina earlier this week, witnesses and local authorities are reporting.
The attack occurred at approximately 5:15 EDT on Wednesday (July 29, 2026) in the water near the public beach access at 6 North Waccamaw Drive in Garden City – just north of coastal municipality’s famed 668-foot pier.
Per witnesses and per reports from the Horry County Police Department (HCPD), the victim – a teenage boy – was bitten just above the right ankle by the shark, resulting in puncture wounds and lacerations.
When HCPD officers arrived on the scene, first responders from Georgetown-based Midway Fire & Rescue were already there and attending to the young man – bandaging the wound and applying a tourniquet to his right leg.
According to a witness, the victim was “taken out on a stretcher – alive but definitely not unharmed.”
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The victim was subsequently transported to Grand Strand Medical Center for further treatment, receiving an estimated fifteen stitches prior to being released.
It’s not immediately clear what type of shark bit the teen – who we’re told was part of a group of approximately 100 other teenagers participating in a church gathering.
As our media outlet has previously reported, shark attacks – especially fatal ones – are extremely uncommon in the Palmetto State. Prior to Wednesday’s incident, only about 120 shark attacks have been recorded in South Carolina’s entire history.
What are the odds of getting bit? Not high. According to a recent Vegas Insider report, a visitor to South Carolina’s coast has only a 0.00014% chance of being bitten by a shark during a two-week stay.
Last year, there were 25 unprovoked shark bites in the United States – one of which was fatal. Unprovoked shark bites are distinguished from “provoked” shark bites, which occur when humans initiate contact with sharks via feeding, fishing or some other activity.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR…
Will Folks is the founding editor of the news outlet you are currently reading. Prior to founding FITSNews, he served as press secretary to the governor of South Carolina. He lives in the Midlands region of the state with his wife and eight children.
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