Shark Attack on Alabama Teen Inspires National Alert System

President Donald Trump has signed “Lulu’s Law” into law, creating a first-of-its-kind national alert system that will warn beachgoers via their mobile phones when a shark attack occurs nearby. The legislation, inspired by a near-fatal shark attack on Alabama teenager Lulu Gribbin, requires the Federal Communications Commission to authorize Wireless Emergency Alerts for shark attacks, according to the Associated Press.

The Attack That Sparked Change

On June 7, 2024, then-15-year-old Lulu Gribbin was diving for sand dollars off Seacrest Beach in the Florida Panhandle when a bull shark attacked her. She lost her left hand, part of her right leg, and nearly died. A man punched the shark off her body, and strangers on the beach rushed to help before she was airlifted to a hospital.

What made the attack especially tragic was what Gribbin did not know: another woman had been bitten by a shark just 90 minutes earlier and only 3 miles down the beach at Watersound, losing her arm. Three people were bitten that day. Gribbin has said she never would have entered the water had she known.

“It’s really just common-sense legislation,” Gribbin told the AP. “It says that whenever there has been a shark attack in a certain area where you are near, it will send an alert to your phone, exactly like how an Amber Alert system works when a child is abducted.”

From Tragedy to Advocacy

Gribbin’s recovery has been remarkable. Fitted with prosthetic limbs, she regained her ability to walk, returned to sports, earned her driver’s license, and even learned to surf — meeting professional surfer Bethany Hamilton, who also lost an arm in a shark attack.

Her advocacy began at the state level. Alabama passed HB437, known as Lulu’s Law, in 2025 — the first-in-the-nation shark alert system, covering Baldwin and Mobile counties. Sponsored by Republican State Rep. David Faulkner, the bill passed the Alabama House unanimously and was signed by Gov. Kay Ivey.

“There had been a shark attack just down the beach, and yet she had no notice,” Faulkner said. “And I felt like in this day and age, that’s something we shouldn’t let happen.”

Federal Law Signed

U.S. Sen. Katie Britt (R-AL) introduced the federal version, Senate Bill 1003, in March 2025. The bill passed with bipartisan support, and Trump signed it into law on June 26, 2026. The White House confirmed that the law requires the FCC to issue an order within 180 days explicitly permitting wireless emergency alerts for shark attacks.

“If there had been any type of alert that was given, there’s no way that Lulu would have been in the water,” Britt said. “And so we talked about how a simple change could have made a huge impact.”

Gribbin’s parents, Ann Blair and Joe Gribbin, praised the bipartisan effort. “This is a commonsense law that makes everyone safer, and it passed with incredible bi-partisan support,” they said in a statement.

How the System Works

The law classifies a shark attack as an event for which the FCC can transmit Wireless Emergency Alerts — the same infrastructure used for Amber Alerts and severe weather warnings. States are responsible for implementation, meaning coastal states will need to adopt their own systems. Alabama already has one in place.

The FCC has 180 days from the June 26 signing to issue an implementing order.

Expert Perspective on Shark Bites

While the alert system addresses a real concern, experts note that shark attacks remain extraordinarily rare. Dr. Gavin Naylor, director of the Florida Museum of Natural History’s shark research program, told CBS News there are between 60 and 80 known unprovoked bites worldwide each year. Multiple bites in close proximity are extremely uncommon.

“If somebody is bitten by a shark, and then an alert goes out, the probability that another person’s going to be bitten by a shark within, let’s say, two or three hours is incredibly small,” Naylor said.

He noted that when multiple bites do occur, environmental factors are typically at play — such as sharks following schools of bait fish close to shore or murky water conditions that increase the chance of mistaken identity.

“If sharks wanted to eat people, we’d have about 10,000 bites a day,” Naylor added. “The fact that we have so few is basically testament to the fact that the sharks are doing their level best to avoid people, not to target them.”

In 2025, there were 65 confirmed unprovoked bites worldwide — 25 in the U.S., with 11 in Florida alone, representing 44% of the U.S. total.

Broader Implications

Lulu’s Law represents a novel application of the existing Wireless Emergency Alert infrastructure. While the statistical risk of shark bites is low, proponents argue that even preventing a single attack justifies the system. The alerts also serve an informational purpose for beachgoers, particularly during peak summer months.

Braxton Rocha, who survived a tiger shark attack off Hawaii in 2015, praised the idea. “Everything happened so fast. It was almost like being struck by lightning,” Rocha recalled. He said the alert system would provide valuable information, especially for tourists unfamiliar with local ocean conditions.

What’s Next

The FCC must issue its implementing order by late December 2026. Once federal regulations are in place, other coastal states are expected to follow Alabama’s lead in establishing their own alert systems. The effectiveness of Lulu’s Law will ultimately depend on state-level adoption and how quickly the infrastructure can be deployed nationwide.

For Gribbin, now 16, the law is the culmination of two years of painful recovery and determined advocacy. “I definitely see this law working in the future,” she said, “and I’m really excited to hopefully save lives.”