A teenage boy, 14, surfing at a secret ‘invite-only’ beach has narrowly avoided bullets as furious locals fired warning shots at him for using the private beach without permission.
The terrifying attack happened at Albatross Point off the Tahoroa coast in New Zealand on Thursday, August 16.
The bullets hit the water just three metres from where the teenage boy was surfing with his father and family friend, Otorohanga police said.
The terrifying incident happened at Albatross Point (pictured) off the Tahoroa coast in New Zealand on Thursday, August 16
Professional New Zealand surfer Daniel Kereopa (pictured) confirmed locals believed the beach was private and surfers were allowed by ‘invitation only’
After the bullet hit the water, the men said they saw two people yelling abuse from the water’s edge.
The terrified surfers fled the beach and returned to the Kawhia boat ramp and reported the incident to the police.
While the surfers were unable to get a good look at their attackers, they believe both were men.
Otorohanga Police Sergeant Andy Connors said the shots left the boy fearing for his life.
‘You’d be fearing the worst and petrified what’s going to happen in the next few minutes,’ he told the Sydney Morning Herald.
The police said they were investigating the incident and urged anyone with information to report what they knew to the police.
Professional New Zealand surfer Daniel Kereopa confirmed locals believed the beach was private and surfers were allowed by ‘invitation only’.
‘Ever since I have known the place and the people that have cared for it, it’s generally been by invitation,’ Daniel Kereopa (with girlfriend) said
Personally invited to the beach off the Tahoroa coast (marked on the map), Kereopa said surfers needed a landowner’s permission before they were accepted
‘Ever since I have known the place and the people that have cared for it, it’s generally been by invitation,’ he told the publication.
Personally invited to the beach himself, Kereopa said surfers needed a landowner’s permission before they were accepted.
Kereopa said the locals were very protective of the beach and did not want it inundated by tourists.
‘It’s one of those places that is still New Zealand, not affected by tourists, not promoted. People live there because they are born for that land and, unfortunately, it’s brought some attention by what’s happened down there,’ he said.
While the competitive surfer said the experience would be ‘terrifying’ for the three surfers, especially the young boy, he said the locals should be respected.
‘If you don’t get asked, you shouldn’t think you deserve to go down there,’ he said.
Kereopa said some places should remain secret and isolated.
‘If you don’t get asked, you shouldn’t think you deserve to go down there,’ Kereopa said