Florida is known for its beautiful beaches and year-round sunshine.
But the Sunshine State is also home to some of the most dangerous predators on the planet.
And a Florida woman got the shock of her life when she learned how close she came to becoming a shark’s lunch.
Lifeguard saves woman from shark attack in shallow water
Lauren Roth was enjoying what seemed like a perfect beach day with her husband Matt in Florida a few months ago.
The couple had recently moved to the state, and Lauren was still getting used to the unique challenges that come with living in Florida.
Her husband Matt, a Florida native, had warned her for months before their move that the wildlife in the state was "intense."
But nothing could have prepared Lauren for what happened next.
She was standing in barely waist-deep water, trying to brave the cold ocean temperatures, when a lifeguard approached her with an urgent message.
"We’ve got a shark coming this way," the lifeguard told her calmly but firmly.
At first, Lauren seemed confused by what the lifeguard was telling her.
But within seconds, the reality of the situation hit her like a ton of bricks.
She immediately began making her way out of the water, graciously thanking the lifeguard for getting her to safety.
"He did a great job! I’m so grateful that he was there to warn me and I didn’t get snuck up on by a shark 😂," Lauren wrote in her TikTok comments.
Shark appears exactly where Lauren was standing
What happened next would give anyone nightmares.
According to Newsweek, about seven seconds after Lauren got out of the water, the shark started swimming past the exact spot where she had been standing.
Her husband Matt continued filming the terrifying encounter, pointing out the shark’s fins as they poked out of the shallow water.
The shark came swimming in water so shallow that its dorsal fin and tail fin were clearly visible above the surface.
It was lurking right where the waves broke – the same area where Lauren had been enjoying her swim just moments before.
Matt could be heard on the video saying "Awesome!" as he watched the dangerous predator glide through the water.
Lauren’s response was less enthusiastic: "Is it?"
Her reaction perfectly captured what most people would be feeling in that situation.
TikTok video goes viral with millions of views
Lauren posted the harrowing encounter on TikTok with the caption: "Shark in the water a few months ago. We do go back in, but I really do feel like Animal Planet sometimes here."
The video has since gone viral, racking up over 9.3 million views and 371,000 likes.
TikTok users were stunned by how close the shark came to the shore and impressed by the lifeguard’s quick thinking.
"Life officially guarded," wrote one user.
"Impressive how he communicated it in a way not to cause panic!" added another.
One user joked: "We have a shark coming in? Did it call first or have a reservation??"
But many commenters were genuinely terrified by the close call.
"I can’t believe how close to the shore it is," one person wrote.
Another commenter identified the predator as a bull shark, warning that they are "very dangerous."
Welcome to Florida living
Despite the terrifying encounter, Lauren and Matt haven’t let it keep them away from the ocean.
In the clip, Lauren told her husband that she was "never going back" in the water.
But that decision was apparently short-lived.
"We love the ocean, so it’s a risk we take," Lauren told Newsweek.
She revealed that she has gone back in the water almost every week since the shark encounter.
"Matt is from [Florida], so he prepared me for months before we moved here that wildlife is intense, so I was less freaked out than I could have been," Lauren explained.
The incident serves as a stark reminder of the dangers that lurk beneath Florida’s beautiful waters.
Shark attacks in Florida are relatively rare, but encounters like Lauren’s happen more often than people realize.
The state consistently leads the nation in shark bite incidents, with most occurring in shallow water near the shore.
Lauren’s experience highlights the importance of having trained lifeguards on duty who can spot potential dangers and act quickly to protect beachgoers.
Thanks to the lifeguard’s vigilance and quick action, what could have been a tragic story became just another wild Florida adventure.
As one TikTok user perfectly summed up the situation: "Welcome to Florida."
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