Mississippi doctor helps save teen's life after shark attack

A Mississippi doctor is being hailed a hero for helping a victim of a shark attack in the Florida panhandle.

Two shark attacks sent three people to Walton County Hospital Friday, according to the Walton County Sheriff's Office. The first attack injured a 45-year-old woman, while the second injured two teenage girls.

Dr. Mohammad Ali, a radiologist with Baptist Medical Group in Jackson, and Dr. Ryan Forbess of Alabama were on the beach enjoying a family vacation when they were alerted to a panic on the shore and immediately pulled their family out of the water.

But as soon as their children were safe, they went back into the water to help after noticing a red cloud in the ocean.

“When I looked at her and saw the severity of the injury, I realized that anyone with medical knowledge should help her,” Ali told News 5.

Ali, Forbess and other medical professionals present applied tourniquets to the girl's leg and hand, which they recognized as potentially life-threatening injuries. Ali and Forbess said few of those helping knew each other, but everyone was determined to team up to save the 15-year-old's life.

“We might as well have worked with them for years,” Forbess said. “It was amazing. In a way, it was God's will that everyone was there to help at the same time.

The three victims attacked by sharks last Friday are expected to survive.

Although the Panhandle's beaches have been closed following two attacks that occurred just four miles apart, Walton County officials continue to remind the public that these events are extremely rare and that attacks were atypical.

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