Tamayo Perry, a skilled surfer, part-time actor, and professional lifeguard, died from a shark attack near Oahu, Hawaii. He was 49 years old.
Renowned Surfer Tamayo Perry Killed in Oahu Shark Attack
Perry was attacked while surfing near Goat Island on Sunday afternoon, according to Shayne Enright from the Honolulu Emergency Services Department. The news was shared at a Sunday press conference, streamed by weeklywakeup affiliate Hawaii News Now.
Honolulu Ocean Safety and the city’s fire, police, and emergency medical services departments went to Mālaekahana Beach on Oahu’s North Shore just before 1 p.m. A caller had reported seeing a surfer who seemed to have been fatally injured by shark bites, according to Enright.
Lifeguards used a jet ski to bring Perry to shore, and paramedics confirmed that he had died, Enright said.
Tamayo started working as a lifeguard on the North Shore in July 2016, according to Enright.
Ocean Safety staff put up shark warning signs in the area after the attack, Enright said.
Honolulu Ocean Safety Acting Chief Kurt Lager said at the news conference that Perry was “a lifeguard everyone loved.”
“Lager described him as famous on the North Shore and recognized globally as a professional surfer.”Tamayo had a great personality that made people love him, and he loved everyone even more.”
Honolulu Mayor Rick Blangiardi praised Perry, calling him a “legendary waterman” who was well-respected. He said Perry’s death is “a tragic loss.”
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Perry became well-known in Hawaii and beyond in the early 2000s for his impressive free surfing skills on the North Shore pipeline. Surfer Magazine mentioned this after his death. He later pursued a career in Hollywood, appearing in the movie “Blue Crush” in 2002 and the fourth “Pirates of the Caribbean” film in 2011. Perry was also in an episode of the TV series “Hawaii Five-O” in 2011.
John Sullivan, an actor from “Hawaii Five-O,” said Tamayo was the friendliest person in Oahu.
“He spread positivity everywhere he went,” Sullivan told weeklywakeup News on Monday.
In 2023, shark attacks that resulted in death doubled compared to the year before, according to the International Shark Attack File. In the U.S., one of the two fatal attacks happened in Hawaii. Most shark attacks overall were reported in Florida.
Earlier this summer, officials issued warnings in both Florida and Hawaii after several shark attacks occurred on the same day. In Florida, two teenagers and a woman were attacked by sharks at different spots along the Panhandle, several miles apart. A woman off the coast of Oahu, Hawaii, was seriously injured in a shark attack.
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