Teenager punches shark after being attacked while swimming at Texas beach: ‘Just instinct’

“I looked down and there was a shark hanging on my hand, so I guess I started hitting it,” said Damiana Humphrey

An Oklahoma teenager vacationing with her family in Galveston, Texas, survived a shark attack by literally taking matters into her own hands and striking.

“It was just instinct,” 19-year-old Damiana Humphrey told the Galveston newspaper The daily news of the May 28 attack, in which four tendons in her hand were severed. “It happened and that was my first reaction when I saw it. It felt like a dream because it happened so quickly.”

Humphrey was standing waist-deep in the water with her siblings when her sister-in-law noticed something brown, Fox affiliate KRIV reported. “When I turned around, a shark grabbed my hand,” Humphrey told the outlet. “I looked down and there was a shark on my hand, so I guess I started punching it. I can see that part kind of blurry.”

Related topics: Florida named shark attack capital of the world – US waters rank number 1 in shark bites worldwide

Humphrey’s next thought was to get her siblings into the water to safety. They came to shore and her family called 911, according to The daily newsHumphrey was taken to the University of Texas Medical Branch and underwent surgery on her hand.

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Humphrey told KRIV that a full recovery is expected.

Related: Shark bites 46-year-old man in California during group swim, leaving him with ‘serious’ injuries

PEOPLE has reached out to the Galveston Island Beach Patrol for comment on the May 28 incident. According to Peter Davis, chief of the Galveston Island Beach Patrol, The daily newsHis team only deals with a shark bite every two to three years.

Related topics: Shark attacks New Zealand woman walking in knee-deep water: ‘Recovery will be slow’

According to the Florida Museum’s International Shark Attack File, there were 69 unprovoked shark bites on humans and 22 provoked bites worldwide in 2023. In the United States, Florida was the state with the most shark bites in the same year, with 16 cases.

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