A 13-year-old girl bravely fended off a shark in the waters off of Fort Pierce, Florida, and is recovering after the attack left her with bites on her torso, arm, finger, and knee.<\/p>\n

Ella Reed lives across the street from the beach but found herself face to face with what she believes was a bull shark for the first time on Thursday.<\/p>\n

\u201cI remember just breathing really heavily, and then when it latched on to my stomach, not being able to breathe at all because I was just like, \u2018What the heck is happening?\u2019\u201d Reed said in an interview on “TODAY” on Monday.<\/p>\n

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The rising eighth-grader said she blocked the shark with her arm after she felt it bite her stomach. She then said she yelled for her friend swimming nearby to head for safety \u2014 before fighting the shark off again.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt bit me in the stomach first. And right as it bit me in the stomach, I shoved my arm where it was biting me so it didn\u2019t get my stomach, and it got my arm instead,\u201d Reed said. \u201cThen I hit it with my other hand, like hit its nose or its face.\u201d<\/p>\n

Reed said she got out of the water and FaceTimed her brother to get help, as she didn\u2019t think her mother was home. Her mother, Devin Reed, said on “TODAY” she initially didn\u2019t think her daughter was being serious.<\/p>\n

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