Watch: Loose Dog Attacks and Kills Sea Lion Below Montage Resort

***WARNING: VIDEO CONTAINS EXTREMELY GRAPHIC IMAGES AND LANGUAGE.***

A dog belonging to a relative of former U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords attacked and killed an apparently sick sea lion Saturday at Goff Beach, just below the Montage resort.

According to published reports, the 65-pound bulldog mix was being walked on a leash by the daughter of retired astronaut Mark Kelly, Giffords' husband. The dog reportedly broke free and charged after the sea lion.

In the video, the dog has its jaws locked onto the sea lion's face. Passersby attempt to separate the animals -- one woman can be seen hitting the dog -- as onlookers scream and cry. Eventually, Kelly appears in the video, shakes the dog loose, and leads it away. Kelly later met with police and discussed the incident.

The sea lion died from its wounds.

Earlier Saturday, police encountered the sea lion when officers freed it from a storm drain in which it had become stuck at Aliso Beach, according to Capt. Jason Kravetz of the Laguna Beach Police Department. The sea lion went back into the ocean and swam south to Goff Beach, Kravetz said.

***WARNING: VIDEO CONTAINS EXTREMELY GRAPHIC IMAGES AND LANGUAGE***

There have been overwhelming numbers of sick sea lions turning up on the beaches of Laguna Beach and Orange County this year, according to the Pacific Marine Mammal Center in Laguna Beach.

Giffords, who was vacationing with her family in Laguna Beach, was not involved in the incident.

Giffords survived a shooting that killed six people in her Tucson, Arizona district in January 2011. She retired from Congress in January 2012 to concentrate on her recovery.

Laguna Beach police didn't cite Kelly's daughter because it's legal to have leashed dogs on the beach at this time of year (although not in the busy summer tourist season).

"It's just a very, very unfortunate event," said Kravetz.

-- City News Service contributed to this story.