6-Year-Old Lucy Mangum Forgives Shark That Attacked Her Off North Carolina Island

Lucy Mangum, 6, of Durham, N.C., survived a shark attack last week off Ocracoke Island. The girl, who reportedly underwent two surgeries, is expected to fully recover. (WRAL.com)

A 6-year-old North Carolina girl who had asked her parents if she was "going to die" after a shark ripped into her flesh last week said Tuesday she forgives the shark that did it.

Lucy Mangum, of Durham, N.C., who underwent two surgeries for severe injuries to her calf muscles and other tendons, said Tuesday she forgives the shark who attacked her July 19 off Ocracoke Island while she was playing on a boogie board, WRAL.com reports.

"He didn't really mean to do it," Lucy told the station in an interview.

Lucy, who is expected to make a full recovery, said she tried to swim away when she saw the shark coming toward her.

The shark grabbed her right leg and foot within seconds, leaving two deep bite marks that exposed her tendons and muscle, according to the station.

"I heard her scream, and I turned and immediately saw the shark," Jordan Mangum, Lucy's mother, told the station. "My instinct was to run over and get her out of the water."

The girl's parents said Lucy remained calm as they snatched her from the water and ran up the beach, but said she was asking questions like: "Am I going to die? Am I going to walk? Am I going to have a wheelchair?"

The girl's father, Craig Mangum, who is an emergency room physician, wrapped his daughter's leg in a T-shirt before emergency crews flew Lucy to Pitt County Memorial Hospital in Greenville.

Lucy's parents, who believe she was bitten by a blacktip shark, also said the girl asked them to say a prayer on the beach immediately after the attack.

"She said, 'Dad, can we say a prayer?'" Jordan Mangum told the station. "We said a prayer for her on the beach. Her faith and stoicism was a marvel to us."

The girl has a cast on her leg for now but is expected to fully recover, the station reports.