A black bear wandered into a school in Raohe county, Heilongjiang province yesterday. In order to protect the students, the bear was shot dead by police.
According to Sina, the bear entered the county’s No. 3 Middle School around 5:00 a.m. on Monday morning. Police say they initially intended to use a tranquilizer gun to sedate the bear, but instead ending up shooting the animal when it became “increasingly aggressive.”
“The bear was roaring,” recalled one witness. “It looked angry and upset.”
No students were hurt in the incident. Several of the school’s windows were broken by the bear before police arrived on the scene.
Raohe county is on the border with Russian in the eastern part of Heilongjiang province. It is known for wild animal sightings like bears and tigers.
Netizens have generally reacted to the news by criticizing the local police for their cruelty.
“Of course, it looked angry, it’s a bear. They should have been better prepared and sedated the animal,” commented one netizen from Shandong.
“How is a bear getting into a school in the first place?” wondered another web user from Zhejiang.