Boy bitten by shark, saved by brother

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Bobby Anderson is a fast-thinking hero. He reached over and punched a shark that was attacking his younger brother, 13 year old Gregory slaughter just 3 feet away. Anderson describes what he saw: "He was screaming and at first I thought it was another fish, and then I looked closer, and I could see the entire shark and then I went over and I hit it, and the shark was gone."

The boys were in waist-deep water near 37th street in Galveston, when it happened.  A series of photos show gashes in his brother's foot, ankle, and fingers. It happened in what they say seemed like a second. How did Bobby know to punch the shark? "It was my first instinct really," he said.

The boys' mother, Misty Lamb is glad her sons were together, and says Gregory is in good spirits, despite his painful injuries.
"His biggest worry is he wants to go home," she said.

He has some procedures ahead of him before that's possible. "It got both sides of his ankle, the outside of the left ankle more, they don't know the extent of the damage yet. They need to clean out the wound real good," said Lamb, "he had a small fracture in his thumb and this (other) finger, here, he's got two tendons broke; he can't move it."

The bite occurred near schools of fish which may explain why the shark was there. This is not a common encounter, according to Galveston Island Beach Patrol Lieutenant Kara Harrison, "It's very rare. We have had 9 shark bites in the last 20 years."

Bobby Anderson is pretty humble. He says he's not a hero, and was just happy he could save his brother. "I didn't want to feel like one," he says, "I just wanted to help him out.