Bear shot after being spotted near Uniontown festival
Uniontown police were forced to shoot and kill a black bear Sunday after officials said it came dangerously close to a festival attended by several thousand people in the city’s downtown.
Police Chief Jason A. Cox said the bear was shot in an area off rear Cleveland Avenue around 2:45 p.m.
The state Game Commission was called and removed the bear following the incident.
According to Cox, police received a report of a bear sighting in the area of Huggins Mobile Home Park in South Union Township.
Cox said police then received subsequent reports of the bear being spotted in locations closer to the city.
The bear was spotted right outside the city limits near the Belmont Inn, located at 64 Barton Mill Road, in South Union before entering the city, where it was again spotted near Marshall Park in the area of Jefferson and Church streets.
“Two blocks from Marshall Park we had thousands of people attending the Italian Heritage Festival,” Cox said, noting that the bear’s close proximity to the festival resulted in officers looking for the bear, locating it near the railroad tracks by St. George’s Maronite Church on Lebanon Terrace.
Patrolman Jason Fidazzo said it’s believed the bear followed the railroad tracks up from Hopwood and was likely lured by the smell of food from the Italian festival.
Police said the bear was running through populated areas in the city’s East End while people were outside, causing a dangerous situation.
“With the festival going on and with the bear being in a highly populated area, the decision was made that the risk was too great and the bear was shot,” Cox explained.
Cox said the bear was shot once in the head and died immediately.
The Game Commission, according to police Capt. David Rutter, said the male black bear weighed 350 pounds.
Rutter said the bear had been tagged, which likely means it had been captured and relocated before.