Officials in Hawaii say that former pro surfer/actor Tamayo Perry was killed in an apparent shark attack on Sunday.
The Honolulu Emergency Services Department said in a statement that the incident was reported just before 1 p.m. on Sunday, with the 911 caller stating that Perry’s body “appeared to have suffered more than one possible shark bite” after he and a group of surfers were paddling out to Malaekahana, an island off Oahu’s North Shore, also known as Goat Island. Honolulu Ocean Safety transported him back to the North Shore, where “Honolulu EMS personnel assisted with his death pronouncement,” according to Shayne Enright of the Honolulu Emergency Services Department.
Perry was featured in films including “Blue Crush” and “Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides,” in addition to making appearances on “Hawaii Five-O” and “The Bridge,” according to IMDB. He was currently employed as a professional lifeguard with Honolulu Ocean Safety since 2016, and was a local surf coach who competed for years in the Pipeline Master Trials, according to his official bio on his coaching site. Perry is said to have been on his lunch break when the incident occurred.
Kurt Lager, acting Ocean Safety Chief, said in a news conference: “Tamayo Perry was a lifeguard loved by all. He was well-known on the North Shore. He’s a professional surfer known worldwide. Tamayo’s personality was infectious, and as much as people loved him, he loved everyone else more. Our condolences go out to Tamayo’s family and to the entire lifeguard ohana.”
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