Mark Kelly, Gabrielle Giffords' husband, pulls daughter's dog off sea lion in Calif.

LAGUNA BEACH, Calif. Amateur video shows former astronaut Mark Kelly, the husband of former Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, yanking away his daughter's dog that clamped down on a baby sea lion at a California beach.

Laguna Beach police tell the Los Angeles Times the attack happened near an exclusive resort Saturday.

Nathan, who declined to give his last name, happened to be having lunch nearby when he started to film the chaotic scene on his cell phone, CBS Los Angeles reports. The graphic video, which he later posted on YouTube (graphic video), showed the young girl screaming while her dog had the sea lion by the neck.

"I was shocked. I didn't know it was them," Nathan said. "I feel really bad they went through this stressful situation."

Kelly finally steps in and wrests the animal free. The sea lion later died.

A spokeswoman for Kelly's political committee says the family crated the dog and then talked to officers. Police say the dog broke from its leash, and no laws were broken.

Kelly and Giffords recently started a gun control advocacy group. The former Arizona congresswoman was shot in 2011.