“Legendary waterman” Tamayo Perry killed in shark attack while surfing off Oahu in Hawaii

An achieved surfer and occasional actor died after sustaining deadly accidents in a shark assault off the island of Oahu in Hawaii, authorities stated. Tamayo Perry, 49, was additionally an expert lifeguard for Metropolis and County of Honolulu Ocean Security.

Perry was attacked whereas he was browsing close to Goat Island on Sunday afternoon, Shayne Enright of the Honolulu Emergency Companies Division stated Sunday at a information convention that was streamed by CBS affiliate Hawaii Information Now.

Honolulu Ocean Security and the town’s hearth, police and emergency medical companies departments responded to Mālaekahana Seashore on Oahu’s North Shore simply earlier than 1 p.m. after a caller reported seeing a surfer who appeared to have suffered shark bites and was fatally injured, Enright stated.

Lifeguards introduced Perry to shore by jet ski and paramedics assisted with the dying pronouncement, Enright stated.

Perry, who labored as a lifeguard on the North Shore, started his profession with the Ocean Security division in July 2016, Enright stated.

Ocean Security personnel posted shark warnings within the space following the assault, Enright stated.

Honolulu Ocean Security Performing Chief Kurt Lager, additionally talking on the information convention, stated Perry was “a lifeguard cherished by all.”

“He is well-known on the North Shore. He is an expert surfer identified worldwide,” stated Lager. “Tamayo’s persona was infectious, and as a lot as folks cherished him, he cherished everybody else extra.”

Honolulu Mayor Rick Blangiardi echoed these sentiments, describing Perry as a “legendary waterman” who was highly-respected. He known as the dying “a tragic loss.”

Perry initially made a reputation for himself in Hawaii and past within the early 2000s, when fellow athletes started to pay attention to his distinctive abilities, significantly when it got here to free browsing the North Shore pipeline, Surfer Journal reported after his dying. He went on to forge a profession in Hollywood, making appearances within the movie “Blue Crush” in 2002 and the fourth installment of the “Pirates of the Caribbean” franchise in 2011. Perry additionally appeared in a 2011 episode of the TV sequence “Hawaii 5-O.”

John Sullivan, an actor who labored with Perry on an episode of “Hawaii 5-O,” known as Perry the “nicest man on Oahu.”

“He broadcasted positivity wherever he went,” Sullivan instructed CBS Information on Monday.

Lethal shark assaults doubled in 2023 in contrast with the earlier 12 months, in accordance with the Worldwide Shark Assault File, a database that retains observe of shark assaults reported around the globe. One of many two deadly incidents reported within the U.S. final 12 months occurred in Hawaii, though shark assaults total occurred most continuously in Florida.

Officers warned folks in each Florida and Hawaii to stay alert earlier this summer time after a sequence of shark assaults occurred in each states on the identical day, CBS Information nationwide correspondent Manuel Bojorquez  reported. In Florida, two youngsters and a lady had been attacked by sharks in separate incidents that occurred a number of miles from one another alongside a stretch of the Florida Panhandle. In the meantime, in Hawaii, a lady was critically injured in a shark assault off the coast of Oahu.