In a horrifying beach attack in Florida, a 13-year-old girl named Ella Reed bravely fought off a shark after it bit her in the side while she was sitting in shallow waters.
The incident occurred on Thursday, May 11, at Fort Pierce Beach, where Ella was enjoying a day at the beach. Ella recounted the nightmarish moment when the shark chomped down on her side, causing excruciating pain.
She described the shark as “powerful” and hitting her stomach really hard. Ella punched the shark as it swam up to her, and it swam away. However, it soon returned and wouldn’t leave her alone.
She had to use her arm and hand to fend it off, and it ended up biting her arm and finger. Ella called her mum and brother when the shark approached her once again, she told Local 10.
Her mum was shocked to see the shark swimming around her daughter, and she initially thought it was a prank. Devin Reed, Ella’s mum, said that her daughter was covered in blood from head to toe, and she couldn’t see what was going on.
Despite often seeing sharks in the water, she had never been worried about a shark bite. After being bitten on her stomach, arm, finger, and the top of her knee, Ella received 19 stitches in total.
Despite being in shock, she wasn’t in much pain due to the adrenaline rush. Her mum was impressed with how calm and collected Ella remained throughout the entire experience, from the bite to the stitches.
Ella plans to get right back into the water and isn’t afraid of the ocean, even after the terrifying incident. Ella thinks she was bitten by a bull shark, estimated to be around five to six feet long. She’s now recovering at home and is proud of her scars, as she knows it could have been much worse.
