HONOLULU (KHON) — A young girl in Kailua, Hawaii had a scary encounter with a shark over the weekend.
Anela Rezentes called it a moment she’ll never forget.
“My soul left my body,” said Rezentes, the six-year-old Kailua-native who was hit by a shark. “I saw a shark. I didn’t notice he was behind my back. So I really wanted to run out. I was really scared.”
“By the time she came out of the water, she was hysterical,” said Sheri Gouveia, Rezentes’ mother. “I was like oh my gosh. So I ran up, … I was looking for it but couldn’t see it. I didn’t realize it was actually a shark. That’s what shocked me.”
Experts say based on the video, it appears this was a Blacktip shark. This species feeds on fish and routinely looks for food in shallow waters. It’s likely that the shark was chasing fish in the whitewash and not targeting the young girl.
The daughter and mother duo say they’re thankful that everyone is safe.
“Never ever has something like this happened before. She’s pretty much here every other weekend. I guess there really are angels watching over my angel,” Gouveia said.
Shark experts add that the best thing to do in this situation is to get out of the water and give the shark is space.
