A bear attacked a child playing in the woods in Westchester County, according to officials, sending the child to the hospital.
The 7-year-old boy was behind his home on Hickory Kingdom Road in Bedford around 11 a.m. Tuesday when he encountered the bear in the backyard, police said. A neighbor told NBC New York he took a photo of the bear after hearing a scream.
Police from North Castle responded to the scene, shooting and killing the bear after it stayed in the yard. The child was was treated by EMS and taken to the hospital, but the injuries were not considered serious, according to a press release.
"Our concern was that [the bear] did not retreat, so at one point he did advance," said North Castle Police Chief Peter Simonsen. "When you have that many human beings, an animal would normally retreat, and it did not."
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The state's Department of Environmental Protection came to the scene, carrying the corpse of the bear off to test for rabies. It took four people to lift the bear, a male, and take it away.
The DEC and North Castle police checked the area and reported no other immediate threats were found.
Neighbors were surprised to hear about the attack, even in what is considered a heavily-wooded area.
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"I've lived in this area 13 years and I've never seen a bear, ever. So I don't take precautions," said Amy Wilbur. "Maybe I should."
Police said seeing a bear in the area around Bedford is rare, but since there are lots of woods in the area, the DEC reminds residents not to leave pet food or open garbage containers near homes. Officials advise those who encounter a bear to back away slowly while raising arms and yelling, in an effort to scare it away.
