Police were called while the bear was still inside the shopping centre and officers followed it to a nearby playground.
Advertisement
Sadly, the bear was shot dead by police after it wandered too close to a primary school.
“Without waiting for the veterinary service to arrive the bear was killed in order to avoid any attacks against local residents”, a city investigative committee said.
Security camera footage showed the bear running through empty corridors before pushing two doors open to escape. Law enforcement officers were in pursuit of the bear and it was shot dead at the playground.
Animal rights campaigner Natalia Kovalenko told AmurMedia the police deliberately made the bear angry, arguing it could have been contained then subdued inside the shopping centre, and its life saved. “Then when the animal came out and was defending itself out of fear, they shot it”.
Hungry wild bear which was presumably seeking food in the Far Eastern city of Khabarovsk is the latest of many recent examples of the animals encroaching on settlements.
Advertisement
It said a few 60 bears “posing a threat to humans” have been killed this year. No people were reported injured.
