Mass. Man Faces Charges After Shooting, Killing Bear in His Own Backyard

An Auburn, Massachusetts, man is facing charges for killing a bear in his backyard. The odd incident unfolded after the animal chased Richard Ahlstrand around his yard. Apparently unable to escape, the 76-year-old turned to his shotgun.

The elderly man claims he was re-stocking his bird feeder when the bear, weighing 300 to 400 pounds and seven feet tall, went after him. Ahlstrand claims he had the gun on him in his back yard on Friday, because he thought he spotted the bear the day before.

"I didn’t have time to aim through the sights, but I aimed in the direction of the head on this thing and I pulled the trigger before it got to me," he told WBZ-TV. "It just dropped."

While he's claiming the killing was self-defense, Ahlstrand is being charged, according to the outlet, with illegally killing a bear, illegally baiting a bear, illegal possession of a firearm and failing to secure a weapon. The man is speaking out against the charges, claiming that he's being unfairly labeled by authorities.

"They got me set up now like I’m some kind of murderer. And then the environmental guy told me ‘You should have called me instead of shooting it,’" he continued. "What was I going to do, say ‘Mister Bear would excuse me please while I go make a phone call?’”

Police apparently don't believe the bear was a threat to people -- a point with which Ahlstrand clearly disagrees.

(H/T: WBZ-TV)

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