The first images have emerged of Stella Berry, the 16-year-old girl who was fatally mauled by a shark in front of her horrified friends.
She was relaxing by a rope swing with her friends in the Swan River in North Fremantle, at about 3.30pm on Saturday when she saw a pod of dolphins and jumped into the water.
Just moments later, what authorities say was likely a bull shark latched onto her leg.
Despite being pulled to shore by heroic onlookers she died at the scene.
The unimaginable horror has rocked the community and sparked an outpouring of grief across the country – as students at Perth’s Shenton College where she attended struggle to cope with the tragedy.
Stella is being remembered as a fun-loving teenager, who loved to make zany videos dancing and miming lyrics with friends, frequently showing off her infectious smile.
She was also a talented athlete and keen hockey player.
Stella Berry (pictured), a 16-year-old schoolgirl, was fatally attacked by a shark after jumping into WA’s Swan River on Saturday
Stella liked art and was an keen runner who wanted to compete in a marathon
Stella’s sister posted on a tribute on social media to the late teen.
‘Thank you for your blessings. She was the best sister I could ever wish for, I would never change a thing about her,’ her TikTok post read.
On Sunday a number of Stella’s friends gathered on the banks of the Swan River near the spot she was attacked, which has been turned into a makeshift memorial site.
Four teens stood arm-in-arm looking out at river before being joined by two more friends as the intermittent sounds of crying and wailing carried along the river banks.
A woman who was a stranger to the group brought them cups of water.
Friend Lara Connolly said Stella was a keen runner who wanted to compete in a marathon.
Stella was the ‘sweetest and smartest girl that I knew’, Laura told the ABC.
‘She never did anything wrong to anybody.’
‘She was so kind. She loved art. I’d ride my bike to see her sometimes and I’d see her running.’
Stella, who was the daughter of two teachers, enjoyed making TikTok videos with her friends and family
Friends described Stella (pictured) as the ‘sweetest and smartest’ girl that they knew and one who ‘never did wrong by anybody’
Laura said she and another friend of Stella, Teagan McArthur, had vowed to run a marathon in honour of the 16-year-old.
Shenton College principal Michal Morgan said Stella’s death had caused ‘great sadness, sincere empathy and the deepest regret’.
‘I understand and respect that people respond to grief and loss in different ways, and that a loss such as this can trigger a broad range of emotional responses that are not always anticipated or evident,’ Mr Morgan told The West.
‘I have personally offered, on behalf of the College, our condolences and support to Stella’s family during this very sad time.’
Both Ms Berry’s parents are teachers.
Perth local, Joshua Banks, 16, was rope swinging with six friends nearby before the gruesome attack unfolded.
‘Me and my mates Jacob and Harry saw them – we actually watched them pass through the bridge as we (were) rope swinging,’ he told The Daily Telegraph.
A local, who saw the 16-year-old die being mauled by what is believed to be a bull shark, said she heard people screaming before the man jumped in
Joshua Banks was rope swinging with a group of mates close by and saw the teen girl and her friends on jet skis before they jumped into the water
‘They passed and we saw them get off the jet skis near the beach and jump off and swim to the shore quickly.’
The teen described what he saw as a ‘completely random attack’ and said he and his friends were left ‘shaken’ by the event.
‘We were completely unaware of this attack and had been swimming and jumping off for about an hour to 45 minutes,’ he said.
He added that his friends were ‘aware it could’ve been us’ instead.
Witnesses told police that a man bravely dived into the water to pull the teenage girl out, describing him as a ‘hero’, but paramedics were unable to save her.
A local girl said she heard people screaming before the man jumped in to try and save her life.
A teenage girl was mauled to death by a shark at Swan River in North Fremantle on Saturday in what eyewitness Joshua Banks described as a ‘completely random attack’
The girl is believed to have been swimming with dolphins when she was attacked by the shark
The girl’s family and friends were seen in a state of shock near the river after she was pulled out.
Emergency services, including police boats, rushed to the scene near the Fremantle traffic bridge and she was pulled out of the water with severe leg injuries.
Fremantle District Acting Inspector Paul Robinson described the incident as ‘traumatic’.
‘It’s an extremely traumatic event for everyone involved and everyone who knew the young girl, so I won’t be going into the extent of the injuries.
‘It is unusual for a shark to be that far down the river … at this point in time an alert has been put out, a shark warning just to let people know this incident has taken place.
‘What we’ve been advised issues with friends on the river, they were on Jet Skis, there was possibly a pod of dolphins been seen nearby, and the young female jumped in the water to swim nearby the dolphins.’
Stella Berry was a student at Shenton College in Perth (pictured). She died on Saturday afternoon
The 16-year-old girl is understood to have been attacked by a bull shark (stock image)
Western Australia Premier Mark McGowan offered his condolences to Stella’s family and friends.
‘It must be awfully tragic for them, all our thoughts go to them at this point in time,’ he said.
‘In terms of these events, they’re very rare events, but when they happen, it’s just awful.’
It is the first fatal shark attack in the Swan River in a century.
‘We did a whole range of things in the ocean to improve safety for people, but the river is different,’ Mr McGowan said.
‘Flying helicopter patrols, it doesn’t work, because the river is opaque, it’s brown — it’s very difficult to find things that work.’
WA Premier Mark McGowan (pictured) has sent his condolences to the family of shark victim Stella Berry
WA Fisheries Minister Don Punch said other measures could be considered.
‘Shark barriers is something we’re always open to talking to local government about in relation to protected swimming areas,’ he said.
The minister said drum lines are not part of shark mitigation strategy.
While authorities are yet to determine the type of shark involved, Mr Punch said he believed it could be a bull shark.
We do know that bull sharks, particularly, do enter estuaries and freshwater river systems, so it is likely that may be the case,’ he said.
Fremantle detectives will prepare a report for the coroner.
the area where the tragic incident occurred has been turned into a makeshift memorial site with friends and strangers adorning the grass along the river with flowers and tribute cards.
Her sister posted on social media to say Miss Berry was ‘a blessing’ and that she wouldn’t change a thing about her.
‘Thank you for your blessings. She was the best sister I could ever wish for, I would never change a thing about her,’ her TikTok post read.
Dozens of friends came to grieve the loss of their school friend on Sunday, where they told The West Australian they had plans to meet up with the 16-year-old that night and were in contact with her just hours before tragedy struck.
United in grief, four teenagers stood arm in arm as they looked out onto the waters where their friend spent her final moments.
The teenagers cried and consoled one another before eventually sitting down at the site in silence while they reflected on the tragedy.
At times, wails and crying came from the group with other members reaching out to hug those who broke down. Two other friends then joined and sat with them.
Lara Connolly and Teagan McArthur, who said Miss Berry was one of their best friends, said they had plans to run a marathon in honour of their mate — who never got a chance to fulfil her dream of completing one.
The grieving friends said they had planned to socialise with Miss Berry at an event on Saturday night, adding they were in contact with her hours before tragedy struck.
‘Shell moved into my English class and we instantly became friends,’ Miss Connolly said.
‘She was the sweetest and smartest girl that I knew and she had never done anything wrong to anybody.
‘She was so kind and she loved art. I would ride my bike to hers sometimes and I would see her running.
‘She wanted to run a marathon and she can’t do that now so I’m going to do it for her.’
Miss McArthur remembered her friend as a ‘very bright young lady’.
‘We always had really good conversations about life. It just doesn’t feel real… this doesn’t deserve to happen to anyone,’ she said holding back tears.
‘We were in contact with her less than 24 hours ago and now she’s not here with us.’
The teenager said Miss Berry messaged her to say she was heading down to the water on Saturday.
Both girls sent their condolences to the young girl’s family, adding everyone would miss her deeply.
‘I couldn’t imagine how they feel. I’m sending my love and praise to them,’ Miss McArthur said.
Residents in the area, as well as people walking by also placed flowers at the scene for Miss Berry throughout the day on Sunday.
One woman, believed to be a stranger to the schoolgirl and the teens mourning her loss, sat with the group where she consoled and hugged them after laying flowers at the site herself.
The teens continued to cry while the woman held them. She then brought them back water and cups while they sat on the grass.
Three teenagers who were swimming in the water the moment Miss Berry was attacked came back to the scene on Sunday to pay their respects to her and her family.
Luke Smith, Ben Walmsley and Ryder Beattie said they were swimming in the water when the area quickly became chaotic with police and paramedics rushing to the aid of Miss Berry.
‘We were over at the bridge on the other side when we heard a bit of panic from people going around on jet skis and going past us,’ Mr Walmsley said.
‘We didn’t think too much of it until we started hearing police sirens… we soon realised something had happened.
‘These people on jet skis came over and told us there is a shark so we quickly got out and saw quite a few people in distress on the other side (of the water).’
Mr Walmsley said they all quickly got out of the water and were ‘quite distressed’ to hear there was a shark as ‘it could have been one of us.’
‘It was a very bad day and we feel so bad for the family and everything that happened,’ he said.
‘It’s an incredibly sad story knowing that this is the spot everyone comes to swim, that it can be ruined that fast and life can go that quick.
‘It’s just so shocking.’
The trio said they saw people trying to resuscitate Miss Berry after she was pulled to shore, with police running from all around trying to get to her.
They said the spot was a popular place among teens, adding that they all swam there a lot.