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Shark Watch: Triathlete dragged underwater during shark blitz: 'You don't have an arm…Why are you laughing?'
A bull shark bolted from the deep toward the surface and slammed into a triathlete’s legs during an early morning workout.
“It hit me about thigh-high. Came up from the bottom. I didn’t even see it,” Chuck Anderson told Fox News Digital about the 2000 attack. “It knocked me up out of the water a bit, and I started treading water. I hollered for Karen (his training partner) to go to the beach.”
Anderson said he put his face underwater to see what hit him. “When I did, I saw the shark coming from the bottom at me again.”
“I threw my hands towards him, and he snapped and took all four fingers off my right hand,” Anderson said. ” I held my right hand up in the air, tried to back paddle towards the beach with my left hand … I saw all the blood around me, and I thought, ‘Oh goodness. This is not gonna be good.”
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Chuck Anderson spent 13 days in the ICU after a near-death confrontation with a bull shark. (Chuck Anderson)
As Anderson attempted his escape, he kept searching underwater for the shark.
At this point, he said he was swimming in about 12-to-15-foot deep waters and was about 150 yards from the beach in the Gulf Shores off Alabama.
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The bull shark attacked again, Anderson said. This time it rammed him in the stomach.
That was round three of a four-round bout. The shark circled Anderson and was poised for the kill shot.
A bull shark comes close to inspect tourist and their cameras during an eco tourism shark dive off of Jupiter, Florida on May 5, 2022. (Joseph Prezioso/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
Chuck Anderson remembers laughing after the attack. When asked how he’s laughing, Anderson said, “I said I got attacked four separate times by shark, and I’m standing here on the beach talking to you.” (Chuck Anderson)
“This time, I actually saw the fin coming directly towards me in the water, and I started trying to make a plan,” said Anderson, who prepared to battle the shark if it got too close.
But his plan backfired.
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“I thought I pushed him off, but my arm went into the shark’s mouth, and he took me to the bottom,” Anderson said, “He swung me around. My shoulder and hip were all chafed and scarred.
“When I was on the bottom, that’s when the good Lord and I had a conversation, and I asked him to get me back up to the surface, at least give me a chance to see my kids one more time.”
Chuck Anderson prayed when he was underwater in the shark’s mouth to see his kids one more time. Now he’s alive and surrounded by his family. (Chuck Anderson)
Female bull shark, Carcharhinus leucas, portrait near Playa Del Carmen, Mexico at the Caribbean Sea. (Luis Javier Sandoval/VW Pics/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)
Call it luck. Call it divine intervention, but the shark pulled him to the surface.
“I have no explanation for it, but the shark went to the surface with my right hand in his mouth,” Anderson said.
“My left hand was on his nose, and he pushed me directly towards the beach. I was going so fast. People on the beach saw it and said it looked like I was on skis.”
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Anderson said he ended up on the sandbar, about 10 yards off the beach, and “wiggled” away from the shark.
He survived the four-round bout with a tenacious bull shark, a species known for its stout, powerful bodies and aggressive and territorial nature.
“She said, ‘Oh my gosh, oh my gosh, you don’t have an arm’ … and asked why I was laughing … I got attacked four separate times by a shark, and I’m standing here on the beach talking to you.”
Chuck Anderson continued to compete after his near-death confrontation with bull shark. (Chuck Anderson)
Anderson remembers being harmless and laughing when he was finally reunited with Karen.
“She said, ‘Oh my gosh, oh my gosh, you don’t have an arm.’ And she looked at me and asked why I was laughing,” he said. “I said I got attacked four separate times by a shark, and I’m standing here on the beach talking to you.
“I can’t believe I’m alive … I should be dead.”
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Anderson was rushed to a nearby hospital. He said he lost about two thirds of the blood in his body. Doctors were able to save his elbow.
He spent 13 days in intensive care, where he underwent several surgeries.
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Chuck Anderson was a triathlete in Alabama and training when he was attacked by a bull shark four times. (Chuck Anderson)
Bull sharks are aggressive and territorial. (Getty)
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With all the injuries and blood loss, Anderson said the “most dangerous” part of the attack was how long he spent underwater. He aspirated saltwater, which is common among scuba divers who inhale seawater mist that attacks the lungs.
Chuck Anderson, a high school coach, nearly died during a shark attack, but it hasn’t stopped him from loving life and joking with everyone. (Chuck Anderson)
“When I got to the hospital, my fever went to 106, so they put me in an induced coma and kept me there for five days,” Anderson said. “They had to get that infection down. Once they brought me out of the coma, the recovery process could start.”
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“I’m lucky”
Hearing Anderson say he’s “lucky” and thankful seems perplexing, given how this attack unfolded.
But he said if the shark bit his stomach instead of ramming him, he would have been lights out; if the shark dragged him farther away from shore instead of toward the beach, he wouldn’t have made it back to shore.
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“There were just so many positive things that happened that day that allowed me to survive that I’ve never really felt sorry for myself because I knew how lucky I was,” Anderson said.
“I’ve never held any animosity towards the shark. It’s their territory, and you know, I just appreciate the fact that I’m still alive.”
He still loves the beach. He still loves the ocean. “And I want people to continue to enjoy it,” he said.
Chuck Anderson lost his right arm after a bull shark attacked him four times at once. (Chuck Anderson)
Shark attacks are so few and far between that “it shouldn’t keep people out of the ocean.”
“I respect sharks. I’m not happy I lost my right arm to one, and if I run into that guy again, I’ll probably have some choice words for him,” Anderson joked.
“But you know, they’re part of the ecosystem, and if we affect that ecosystem, the oceans that we love will be affected, and I don’t want that to happen. I want people to respect the territory of the sharks.”
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President Donald Trump is asking the office of Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis to reimburse him more than $6.2 million in attorney fees and costs in the wake of the recently dismissed 2020 election interference case she brought against him.
The development comes after Willis was permanently sidelined from prosecuting the case against Trump last September. She had lost an appeal after the Georgia Court of Appeals said Willis and her office could not continue to prosecute the case, citing an “appearance of impropriety” stemming from her romantic relationship with special prosecutor Nathan Wade. The case was then dismissed in November.
Georgia state legislators last year passed a law that says that if a prosecutor is disqualified from a case because of his or her own improper conduct and the case is then dismissed, anyone charged in that case is entitled to request “all reasonable attorney’s fees and costs incurred” in their defense. The judge overseeing the case then is responsible for reviewing the request and awarding the fees and costs, which are to be paid from the budget of the prosecutor’s office.
“In accordance with Georgia law, President Trump has moved the Court to award reasonable attorney fees and costs incurred in his defense of the politically motivated, and now rightfully dismissed, case brought by disqualified DA Fani Willis,” Steve Sadow, Trump’s lead attorney in Georgia, said in a statement.
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President Donald Trump and Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images; Alex Slitz-Pool/Getty Images)
A motion filed Wednesday said, “President Trump prays that this Court award attorney fees and costs for the defense of President Trump in the amount of $6,261,613,08.”
Willis’ indictment had accused Trump of pressuring officials to overturn the 2020 vote in Georgia, organizing “fake electors” and harassing election workers.
A Fulton County grand jury indicted Trump and 18 others in August 2023, and Trump surrendered at the Fulton County Jail on Aug. 24.
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Special prosecutor Nathan Wade and Fani Willis, the district attorney for Fulton County (Getty Images)
Last month, when another person charged in the case made a similar filing, Willis’ office filed a motion asking to be heard on the matter of any claims for fees and costs filed in the case, according to The Associated Press.
Willis’ motion raised concerns about the law passed last year that allowed Trump and others to seek to have their expenses paid.
“The statute raises grave separation-of-powers concerns by purporting to impose financial liability on a constitutional officer, twice elected by the citizens of Fulton County, for the lawful exercise of her core duties under the Georgia Constitution,” her motion said.
Donald Trump’s booking photo provided by the Fulton County Sheriff’s Office after he surrendered on charges of plotting to overturn the 2020 election. (Fulton County Sheriff’s Office via AP)
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Her motion also added that the law violates due process by “retroactively imposing a novel fee-shifting scheme” that creates a substantial burden for the county’s taxpayers without any recourse.
Fox News Digital’s Michael Dorgan and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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The third time won’t be the charm for Stacey Abrams, at least in 2026.
The two-time Democratic gubernatorial nominee in battleground Georgia is ruling out another run for governor this year, saying that instead she’ll focus on her work fighting what she warns is the nation’s move toward authoritarianism under President Donald Trump.
“Americans are in pain but they are ready to act, and now is the moment to reconnect to what is at stake and what is possible,” Abrams said in a statement to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “It’s clear to me that the most effective way I can serve right now is by continuing to do this important work. For that reason, I will not seek elected office in 2026.”
Abrams, a former Democratic Party leader in the Georgia state legislature and a nationally known voting-rights advocate, narrowly lost to Republican Gov. Brian Kemp in the 2018 gubernatorial election. She lost her 2022 rematch with Kemp by nearly eight points.
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Stacey Abrams, seen here at Georgia State University on Nov. 7, 2022, in Atlanta, Georgia, will not run for governor in 2026. (Elijah Nouvelage/Getty Images)
Sources confirmed to Fox News Digital last spring that Abrams was mulling a third straight run for governor in the race to succeed the now-term-limited Kemp.
Abrams grabbed plenty of national attention during the 2018 Georgia race, and came close to making history as the nation’s first Black female elected governor. Her refusal to concede to Kemp after losing by a razor-thin margin boosted her among many Democrats while becoming a top GOP political target.
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She launched the Fair Fight political organization following her defeat, helped Biden narrowly carry Georgia in the 2020 presidential election, and also contributed to the sweep by the Democrats in the Jan. 5, 2021 twin Senate runoff elections.
Abrams raised over $110 million in fundraising for her 2022 rematch with Kemp, but was soundly defeated by the Republican incumbent.
Republican Gov. Brian Kemp of Georgia, seen speaking with Fox News Digital during his 2022 re-election campaign, is term-limited and cannot run for re-election in 2026. (Paul Steinhauser/Fox News)
In recent years, the political machine Abrams built has faded. The Abrams-founded New Georgia Project folded last year after being fined $300,000 for illegally backing her 2018 campaign.
And while Abrams last year considered a 2026 gubernatorial run, other Democratic candidates jumped into the race.
Former Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms, who served as director of the White House Office of Public Engagement during former President Joe Biden’s administration, is widely seen as the front-runner for the Democratic gubernatorial nomination.
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Also running for the Democratic nomination is former Lieutenant Gov. Geoff Duncan, who was elected in 2018 but declined to seek re-election in 2022. The former Republican is now a moderate Democrat. Former state Rep. Ruwa Romman and former Dekalb County CEO Michael Thurmond are also in the race.
Former Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms, who served in then-President Joe Biden’s administration, is running for the 2026 Democratic nomination for governor in Georgia. (Getty Images)
In the race for the Republican nomination, Lt. Gov. Burt Jones has the backing of President Donald Trump.
The field also includes Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr and Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger.
The Cook Report, a leading non-partisan political handicapper, rates the race a toss-up, while Inside Elections rates it as tilt Republican and Sabato’s Crystal Ball rates it as lean Republican.
Abrams, in her statement to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, said she’ll keep her focus on the fight to protect democracy.
“The antidote to authoritarianism and its harms has always been democracy; and I have long believed that democracy requires active engagement and staunch defenders,” she wrote.”But democracy is experienced by the vast majority through the work of government — when it fails, we are all imperiled.”
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A Florida man is behind bars after allegedly killing a woman and leaving her body on a popular beach the day after Christmas.
Brandon Ward McCray, 28, was taken into custody by the U.S. Marshals and Hollywood Police Department on Dec. 30, 2025 and charged with sexual battery, kidnapping, battery and battery by strangulation, according to police records obtained by Fox News Digital.
Authorities responded to a call regarding a body on the sand of Hollywood Beach – located approximately 15 miles from Fort Lauderdale Beach – at around 7 a.m. on the morning of Dec. 26, 2025, according to WPLG. The victim, later identified as 56-year-old Heather Asendorf, was pronounced dead at the scene.
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Brandon Ward McCray is charged with sexual battery, kidnapping, battery and battery by strangulation in Broward County, Florida, according to police records obtained by Fox News Digital. (Broward County Sheriff’s Office)
Witnesses later told NBC Miami the body was wrapped in a white blanket and had blood trailing from the remains.
Officials did not release details regarding Asendorf’s cause of death, but previously stated that foul play was suspected.
Additionally, detectives believe McCray and Asendorf knew each other prior to the alleged murder, according to WSVN.
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Authorities reportedly allege Brandon Ward McCray murdered 56-year-old Heather Asendorf after her body was found on Hollywood Beach in Hollywood, Florida on Dec. 26, 2025. (iStock)
“This case remains an active criminal investigation,” Hollywood police said in a news release. “There is no indication of a broader threat to the community.”
McCray was previously charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon in 2023 after allegedly brandishing a gun at a tow truck driver as his vehicle was being repossessed, according to NBC Miami.
MAN WITH VIOLENT CRIMINAL HISTORY ON PAROLE ALLEGEDLY STABS TEEN TO DEATH: OFFICIALS
Officials reportedly did not release details regarding Heather Asendorf’s cause of death, but previously stated that foul play was suspected. (iStock)
He was taken into custody at his nearby home and booked into the Broward County Main Jail on $770,000 bond, WPLG reported.
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The Hollywood Police Department and McCray’s attorney did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.
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