13-year-old Florida girl punches shark after bite, left with 19 stitches

FORT PIERCE, Fla. (WPEC) — A teen girl from Fort Pierce was left with 19 stitches and quite the story to tell on Thursday after a close encounter with a shark.

Ella Reed, 13, was swimming at Ft. Pierce Inlet State Park when what is believed to have been a bull shark got a little too curious.

The shark bit Ella in the arm, stomach, finger, and the top of her knee.

Ella's mother told WPEC-TV her daughter punched the shark during her escape.

Photos of Ella’s recovery show where the shark bit her, requiring doctors to patch her up with more than a dozen stitches.