Hero dad punches shark attacking his child

Patrick Thornton, 47, was not about to let his son fall victim to yet another shark attack in North Carolina. When a shark attacked his 8-year-old son, Jack, last Friday in North Carolina waters, the heroic father punched the shark and used his body as a shield to save his son.

In an interview with ABC 7, Thornton described the terrifying event. He said:

He just started punching the shark....casual. He's already basically the most heroic dad ever...and it gets even better. After punching the shark, Thornton saw that Jack was still terrified standing deeper in the water. As Thornton ran to get his son, the shark struck him yet again. Thornton said:

%shareLinks-quote="I ran over and grabbed Jack, and as I was bringing him to shore the shark came over again and bit me in the back. And this time, he bit me really, really hard. I kind of punched down, and then I think I had two hands where I hit off of it." type="quote" author="Patrick Thornton" authordesc="" isquoteoftheday=%

Thornton was immediately sent to the hospital for puncture wounds on his back and leg and is recovering well.

Not only did the single father save both himself and his son, but he also saved a family from Tennessee as they were able to rush out of the water with enough time.

Jamie Monroe, a fellow beachgoer, told The Virginion-Pilot:

Watch this video to learn how to survive a shark attack:

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