FL Girl Punches Shark, Fends Off Attack At Fort Pierce Beach: Reports

FORT PIERCE, FL — A 13-year-old Florida girl punched a 6-foot-long bull shark to escape an attack at a Fort Pierce beach last week, according to multiple reports.

Ella Reed fought off the shark while sitting in shallow, waist-deep water with a friend during a visit to Ft. Pierce Inlet State Park on Thursday, ABC 3340 reported.

“The shark itself was so powerful. That was what I felt the most because it was hitting my stomach really hard,” she told Local 10 News.

After the first bite, she immediately told her friend to get out of the water.

Related Stories:

• Spearfisherman Fights Off 6-Foot Bull Shark In Gulf Of Mexico: Report
• FL Leads The World In Shark Bites For 2022: University Of Florida
• Kite Surfer, 67, Bit By Shark In FL Keys: Report
• Girl Fights Off Shark At South FL Beach, Survives Attack
• Spearfisherman Bit By Shark In Florida Keys: Monroe County Sheriff

"Her first thing was to tell her friend to run, not ask for help. She was saving her friend,” Ella’s mother told Today.

The teen hit the shark and though the predator initially swam off, it didn’t stay away for long, returning to where the bleeding girl was sitting in the water.

“It wouldn’t leave me alone, so I had to use my arm and use my hand too, so it got my arm and my finger,” Ella said.

She was eventually able to get away from the shark and get herself on land. Once back on the beach, Ella FaceTimed her brother for help, according to reports.

"At first, I thought she was joking actually, and then she says, 'I'm not joking!' And she took the camera, and she panned it on her body, and I kind of just froze and freaked out," her mother said.

As her daughter came up from the beach on a golf cart, her mother met her with their car and drove her to a nearby fire station. First responders brought her to a hospital, where she received 19 stitches, reports said.