ISLE OF PALMS, S.C. >> There’s been another shark attack in the waters off the coast of the Carolinas.

Area media outlets report that a 12-year-old boy was bitten while swimming off the Isle of Palms northeast of Charleston, South Carolina on Tuesday.

The youngster was swimming with a cousin about 15 feet out in the surf about 6 p.m. when he was bitten. The youth required eight stitches to close the wound.

There have been at least two shark attacks off the South Carolina coast this year.

Seven people have been attacked by sharks along the North Carolina coast in the past three weeks. The most recent was Wednesday when a 68-year-old man was injured off Ocracoke Island.

North Carolina Gov. Pat McCrory says safety officials are still trying to find patterns in the series of shark attacks on the state’s coast in order to keep the key tourism region safe for visitors.

McCrory said Thursday he doubts there’s a single safety response to the string of shark attacks in the past three weeks that has pushed this summer past the previous record kept by a respected database.

The Florida Museum of Natural History’s International Shark Attack File says in the 80 years for which it has records, the highest previous North Carolina total was five incidents in 2010.

McCrory says local governments could consider restrictions on luring sharks to fishing hooks around areas where people swimming, especially during the summer tourist season.