Teen Girl Survives Shark Attack On Texas Beach By ‘Punching It’

A teenager survived a terrifying encounter with a shark in Galveston, Texas last week that left her with four severed tendons in her hand and a wild story to tell her grandkids someday.

"I looked down and there was a shark attached to my hand," Damiana Humphrey recounted to FOX26 Houston, "so I guess I started punching it."

She said the attack was blurry but believes the shark was at least 4 or 5 feet long. The exact type of shark is still in question, but spinner, blacktip, bonnethead, and bull sharks are the most frequently found swimming around the Texas coast.

Humphrey is lucky to have made it away with her life and doctors expect a full recovery from the attack. She's already had surgery on her hand and physical therapy will also be utilized.

Shark bites are uncommon in the area where she was swimming, but Galveston Beach Patrol Chief Peter Davis explained there have been some incidents where sharks mistake humans for prey and quickly release them.

In 2023, there were 36 shark attacks in the United States, none of which occurred in Texas. If you're feeling uneasy about your upcoming trip to a Texas beach, the odds of being attacked by a shark are VERY slim. You're far more likely to have a fantastic and shark-bite-free time with your family.

If you do find yourself on the wrong side of a big shark, ReefQuest Centre for Shark Research advises that you defend yourself with whatever women you have available to you and focus your blows on the shark's gills, eyes, and snout.