Current:Home > FinanceBear killed in Connecticut and the shooter claims self defense, a year after a law was passed -MarketLink
Bear killed in Connecticut and the shooter claims self defense, a year after a law was passed
View
Date:2025-04-15 05:39:32
CANTON, Conn. (AP) — Connecticut police were investigating the killing of a 450-pound, adult male black bear on Monday morning and claims by the shooter that it was done in self-defense.
The bear was killed after “reportedly feeding at an unsecured dumpster” in Canton, a community of about 10,000 people and about 13 miles (21 kilometers) northwest of Hartford, said Paul Copleman, a spokesperson for the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection. DEEP’s Environmental and Conservation Police officers is conducting the investigation.
The shooting comes a year after the General Assembly passed legislation that explicitly allows someone to use deadly force to kill a bear in Connecticut if they reasonably believe it’s inflicting or about to inflict great bodily harm to a person, a pet or is entering an occupied building.
Some state legislators, concerned about the increase in human and bear interactions in Connecticut, had hoped the legislation would have gone further and included a bear hunt and restrictions on people unintentionally feeding the hungry animals.
Copleman said the conservation police are looking into whether this marks the first time someone has claimed self-defense in killing a bear since the law was enacted.
In recent years, bears have been spotted throughout Connecticut. In 2023, bears were reported in 165 of the state’s 169 cities and towns.
There were more than 200 bear sightings last year in Canton. During a live news report on Monday evening by WFSB-TV about the shooting, another black bear showed to check out the same row of dumpsters before returning to the woods.
veryGood! (688)
Related
- Finally, good retirement news! Southwest pilots' plan is a bright spot, experts say
- Commission backs Nebraska governor’s return-to-office order
- Following Cancer Alley Decision, States Pit Themselves Against Environmental Justice Efforts
- Tour helicopter crash off Hawaiian island leaves 1 dead and 2 missing
- San Francisco names street for Associated Press photographer who captured the iconic Iwo Jima photo
- Angry birds have been swarming drones looking for sharks and struggling swimmers off NYC beaches
- Judge considers Alec Baldwin's request to dismiss 'Rust' case over 'concealed' evidence
- How much do the winners of Wimbledon get in prize money?
- Why we love Bear Pond Books, a ski town bookstore with a French bulldog 'Staff Pup'
- Retired Massachusetts pediatrician pleads not guilty to abusing young patients
Ranking
- Tarte Shape Tape Concealer Sells Once Every 4 Seconds: Get 50% Off Before It's Gone
- Houston hospitals report spike in heat-related illness during widespread storm power outages
- Diana Taurasi will have 2 courts named after her at Phoenix Mercury’s new practice facility
- Appeals court makes it harder to disqualify absentee ballots in battleground Wisconsin
- Stamford Road collision sends motorcyclist flying; driver arrested
- Judge throws out Rudy Giuliani’s bankruptcy case, says he flouted process with lack of transparency
- Livvy Dunne says Paul Skenes makes her a 'crazy baseball girlfriend'
- Hungary's far right Prime Minister Viktor Orbán visits Trump in Mar-a-Lago after NATO summit
Recommendation
Person accused of accosting Rep. Nancy Mace at Capitol pleads not guilty to assault charge
Trucker describes finding ‘miracle baby’ by the side of a highway in Louisiana
Chicago exhibition center modifying windows to prevent bird strikes after massive kill last year
Potentially dozens of Democrats expected to call on Biden to step aside after NATO conference
Scoot flight from Singapore to Wuhan turns back after 'technical issue' detected
Pastors see a wariness among Black men to talk abortion politics as Biden works to shore up base
Arizona abortion initiative backers sue to remove ‘unborn human being’ from voter pamphlet language
Deeply Democratic Milwaukee wrestles with hosting Trump, Republican National Convention
Like
- Why Sean "Diddy" Combs Is Being Given a Laptop in Jail Amid Witness Intimidation Fears
- Wisconsin governor declares state of emergency for 4 counties, including 1 where flooding hit dam
- Heavy rains leave at least 200 crocodiles crawling around cities in Mexico near Texas, increasing risk for the population