shark attack

A new shark alert system, inspired by a teen who survived an attack last year, that warns beachgoers when a shark has bitten someone in the vicinity will be established in Alabama under legislation signed by Governor Kay Ivey. The system will issue a public notice to cellphones when there's been a shark attack nearby.

An Alabama teen who narrowly survived a fierce shark attack last year said she hopes a proposed alert system before state lawmakers can help keep others safe in the water. Lulu Gribbin, now 16, was one of three people bitten by a shark last year, during a string of attacks off the Florida Panhandle.

Days after a shark attack in the Florida panhandle cost teenager Lulu Gribbin her left hand and right leg, her mother said the first words she uttered after surgery were "I made it." The Mountain Brook, Alabama teenager was one of three people injured in shark attacks last over the course of about 90 minutes in Walton County.

Five fatal encounters in less than a year — usually there is one a year off Australia — have raised alarms. Some wonder whether great whites should be culled.