UNIONTOWN, Pa.,None — Police in one southwestern Pennsylvania city say they fatally shot a 350-pound black bear as it approached a festival attended by thousands of people.
Uniontown police say an officer shot the bear in the head about 3:30 p.m. Sunday about two blocks from the city's Italian Heritage Festival. Police believe the bear might have been attracted by the smell of food from the festival.
Callers reported the bear to Fayette County 911 dispatchers at various points outside the city. After the bear entered the city, police tried to shoo it away from the festival and back out of town.
Police were waiting for a Pennsylvania Game Commission officer with a tranquilizer gun when they determined the bear was endangering people and shot it instead.
The police chief, who fired the shot, said he had no other choice.
"The bear entered a residential area. We had a lot of people outside, a lot of children and pets roaming the streets. At that point the rick just became too great and we terminated the bear," said Uniontown Police Chief Jason Cox. "If someone did see the bear there it would have probably been a mass stampede throughout the downtown area."
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