Graphic: Surfer Bit By Possible Shark In Los Angeles

An 18-year-old-girl was surfing off Sunset Blvd in Pacific Palisades Wednesday when she was attacked by a possible four-foot-juvenile-great white shark.

Sophia Raab from Santa Monica, California has become the second person in two weeks to be sent to the hospital after a run-in with the apex predator while surfing in Southern California. While the shark has not been confirmed, Doctors state the injury is consistent with a shark bite. 

On a GoFundMePage set up for her medical bills, Sophia said she was paddling in when she felt a sudden burst of pain in her leg. “I had no idea what happened- just that it was the most painful experience of my life. I looked down at my leg and saw that a chunk of my thigh was missing. It was completely peeled open. At that moment, I thought I had caught my last wave.”

Just a nibble. 

Like teenagers do, Sophia took to Instagram to document her experience. She has since changed her handle to Shark_Bite_Sophia and has been updating her followers on her condition while she receives treatment at UCLA Medical Center.

Having experienced surfing’s coined irrational fear, Sophia is determined to get back in the ocean. “ I’m going to be back out there as soon as I can,” she said in a comment to a friend, “I won’t be letting a baby shark stop me from doing what I love!”

With that, shark hysteria continues to meltdown off the sunny coast of Southern California.

Her confidence in returning to the brine is commendable.