May 5 (UPI) — A mother recording her 6-year-old daughter playing in the waves at a Hawaii beach captured the moment the girl was chased out of the water by a shark.
Sheri Gouveia said she was recording video of her daughter, Anela Rezentes, at Kalama Beach in Kailua when the girl suddenly ran from the water and shouted that she had seen a shark.
“By the time she came out of the water, she was hysterical,” Gouveia told KHON-TV. “I was like, ‘oh my gosh.’ So I ran up, but I was looking for it but couldn’t see it. I didn’t realize it was actually a shark. That’s what shocked me.”
Gouveia reviewed her video footage and discovered a shark had indeed come within inches of her daughter.
“I saw a shark. I didn’t notice he was behind my back. So I really wanted to run out. I was really scared,” the girl said.
Experts reviewed the video and said it appears to be a blacktip shark, a species known to hunt for fish in shallow waters. They said the girl was likely not in any danger from the shark.