Teen Punches Shark To Escape Attack At Texas Beach

A 19-year-old teen was swimming at a Texas beach with her siblings when a shark bit her hand. Luckily, she punched the shark and scared it away.

Damiana Humphrey of Oklahoma was at a beach near Galveston when her sister-in-law said she saw something in the water around 7:30 p.m. Moments later, the shark attacked Humphrey.

“As I was turning, a shark grabbed a hold of my hand,” Humphrey told FOX26 Houston. “I looked down and there was a shark attached to my hand, so I guess I started punching it. That part is kind of blurry to me.”

The shark then swam away, and Humphrey and her siblings rushed to shore, where her parents called 911. Paramedics then arrived.

“The first question I asked the paramedics was if my fingers were all still there,” Humphrey told the Houston Chronicle. “I didn’t look at the wound yet because I couldn’t get myself to. She convinced me that they were still there and then I asked her if they would have to cut off my hand because I didn’t know how bad it was at the time. And she goes, ‘No, you should have your hand.’ I was like, ‘OK.’ And then that calmed me down.”

Humphrey had four severed tendons in her hand and underwent surgery and is expected to make a full recovery.

She won’t be able to move her hand for four to six weeks and must undergo physical therapy.

According to the Chronicle, shark attacks are rare off the Texas coast. Since 1911, there have been only 19 shark attacks in Galveston County. Usually, sharks mistake a human for prey, but then lets them go.