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Watch: Fisherman Encounters Great White Shark Off North Carolina Coast

There are occasional great white shark sightings off the North and South Carolina coasts. Most of the time these ‘sightings’ come in the form of pings from sharks that are…

Great White Shark North Carolina
(Photo by Ryan Pierse/Getty Images)

There are occasional great white shark sightings off the North and South Carolina coasts. Most of the time these 'sightings' come in the form of pings from sharks that are tagged. This story? Well, it's more like Jaws. A Virginia man came across a great white shark circling around a shipwreck, but once the shark caught sight of him it headed straight towards David Scherrer.

Scherrer, who is from Virginia Beach, somehow was able to record the encounter. He was spearfishing about 20 miles off the North Carolina Outer Banks. The video which is posted below, shows the shark seeming to swim past him, but then it sharply turns. And then the predator heads straight towards Scherrer, who quickly pulled his speargun. The animal gets closer and closer to Scherrer eventually getting what seems like inches away from his weapon, when it finally turns.

The encounter took place on December 16th. Scherrer’s video has racked up several hundred thousand views on social media platforms and YouTube.

Melanie Day is a graduate of North Carolina State University. She has worked for Beasley since 2012 in a variety of behind-the-scenes roles in both digital and promotions. Melanie writes about a diverse range of topics some of her favorites include travel, restaurants, Taylor Swift, and college athletics. When not at work you'll find her at a country concert or NC State sporting event.