State Trooper Investigating Open School Door Comes Face-to-Face with Bear in Fatal Encounter

A Kentucky state trooper investigating an open door at a Harlan County elementary school came face-to-face with an atypical intruder which led to a fatal shooting.

Kentucky State Police said in a Thursday release that an unidentified trooper an open door with garbage strewn outside James A. Cawood Elementary School.

The trooper entered the school’s field house to investigate and was confronted by a black bear that had entered the building.

“The bear had entered the building and became aggressive, lunging at the trooper and backing him into a corner,” the release said. “The trooper discharged his firearm, striking the bear in an effort to protect himself from harm.”

Second Amendment Foundation President Massad Ayoob, who has decades of experience as a police officer and expert witness on the use of force in self-defense, told the Daily Caller News Foundation that it was not unusual for police officers to use their firearms against animals.

“Having to shoot vicious dogs, injured animals hit by cars, and the occasional wild animal is part of the job,” Ayoob said when reached for comment.

“Alaska state troopers have to shoot big dangerous bears often enough that they are issued special deep-penetrating Brenneke rifled slug loads for their patrol car shotguns for just that purpose.”

The bear was later confirmed to have been killed in the incident, while the trooper was uninjured. The Kentucky State Police did not immediately respond to a request for comment from the DCNF.

Harlan County Public Schools addressed the incident in a statement Thursday.

“No students were present during this incident,” the school system said.

“We are bear aware around our schools and have a number of protocols in place to help assure student safety. Fish and Wildlife officials have visited our campuses and worked with us to identify strategies.”

“We will begin an immediate review of our protocols to determine if any additional measures can be added to further enhance safety,” the school board added.

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