Teenager's desperate message after dicing with death in harrowing shark attack

A teenager who nearly died following a has spoken about her ordeal in detail for the first time.

in the horror on June 7, 2024. She was one of three people bitten by during a string of attacks in just one day off the Florida Panhandle, the northwestern part of the US state. Lulu and her friend were riding the waves when her pal screamed, "shark!" Recalling the encounter today, an emotional Lulu said: "I saw a big shadow, but we all just started swimming for our lives."

Although the teenager said she tried to remain calm, remembering sharks are supposed to be attracted to frantic motion, the creature attacked her and her friend. Lulu, from Montgomery, Alabama, continued: "My hand was bitten first. I remember just lifting it out of the water, and I was stunned because there was no hand there. I couldn’t feel it because of all the shock I was in. Then the shark latched onto my leg."

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A stranger, whom Lulu has described as a hero, pulled the teen from the water. She blacked out and came to on the shore where a doctor and other medical workers, who were on the beach that day, rushed to save her. She said: "I remember being focused just to keep my eyes open and to breathe, to just be able to make it to the hospital."

Sharks are commonly found in the waters off Alabama and Florida but attacks are rare. Nevertheless, Lulu wants lawmakers in her state, Alabama, to support a proposed shark attack alert system. It would issue a notice to the public when there's been an unprovoked shark attack in the vicinity.

There was another shark attack in the same area less than two hours before Lulu's horror, the girl claims. She said had she known about that attack, she and her friend would not have ventured into the water that day.

But the brave youngster overcame her injuries, documenting her recovery on social media, and wants to use her story to warn others of the dangers. Her campaign has led to the Alabama House Public Safety and Homeland Security Committee advancing a bill for a law change. It now moves to the full Alabama House of Representatives where, if approved, it will lead to the alert system.

Gavin Naylor, director of the Florida Museum of Natural History’s shark research project, said there are between 50 and 90 unprovoked bites around the each year, and he stressed a trio of bites in a single day in close proximity is extremely rare.

“The bait fish were very close into shore along that same beach and sharks were following them. But on any day in Alabama, you can see 20 or 30 bull sharks 400 meters offshore, but they just don't interact with the public because they are much farther away,” Mr Naylor said.