Girl, 13, bitten by barracuda in bloody horror movie attack during Turks and Caicos birthday trip

A teen girl needs surgery after she was bitten by a barracuda during her birthday trip to Turks and Caicos — but says the harrowing ordeal won’t stop her from becoming a marine biologist and even named the fish.Claire Macdonel was doing a handstand in shallow water just days after her 13th birthday when the predatory saltwater fish suddenly sank its teeth into her hand, KHOU11 reported.

“I did the handstand, like four or five feet deep, and when I did it, midway, I just felt a lot of pressure,” Claire told the outlet.“I just looked up from my hand, and I just saw blood everywhere.It was running through my whole arm, and it was just like a horror movie,” she said.Claire’s mother, Jen Macdonel, was in the water when the terrifying attack unfolded and rushed to get her daughter to the shore, where a stranger stepped in to help.“She stepped in and said, ‘I’m a nurse.

Can I please help?’ And I said, ‘Yes, please.’ So I stepped back, and she made a tourniquet and helped stop the bleeding while we waited for the ambulance to arrive,” Macdonel said.Photos captured Claire’s grisly injuries from the barracuda bite, including multiple lacerations and puncture wounds to her hand.Doctors were able to clean the wound and place a loose suture, so the teen could enjoy the rest of her Turks and Caicos vacation.Though she still needs surgery to repair the damage — Claire said the ordeal has not frightened her into giving up her dream of becoming a marine biologist.“Just because one bite happened, it doesn’t change that I love animals and want to study them,” she said. “Even though something bad happened, you’ve got to keep going with your dreams.”The girl added that she believes the shiny jewelry she was wearing attracted the barracuda, mistaking it for prey.“She named the barracuda Suzie.She’s like, ‘I’m not mad at the ocean.

I’m a little mad at Suzie, but we’ll get over it,'” her mom said. “She’s an inspiration to a...