Officers with the Huntington Police Department had the unfortunate task of taking down a bear that ventured too far into Huntington’s south side on Thursday, June 25, 2015.
HUNTINGTON, W.Va. – It wasn’t a happy ending for a young black bear that wandered into Huntington’s South Side on Thursday.
Huntington Police officers shot the bear, which had journeyed from 28th Street to 9th Street late Thursday afternoon. The bear had walked through Spring Hill Cemetery, the Cabell Huntington Hospital parking lot and into the residential area.
Officers were attempting to corral the bear to a safer place and tire him out while they waited for the Department of Natural Resources to arrive with tranquilizers, Huntington Police Chief Joe Cicarelli said. Unfortunately, the nearest DNR location with the supplies needed to tranquilize the bear was in Point Pleasant, West Virginia.
Ciccarelli said the bear had climbed into a tree for awhile, but a crowd formed, trying to get a look at the bear and get pictures. When the bear started moving again, he was more agitated. That’s when Ciccarelli gave the order to shoot…