Police put down cub accidentally injured at Colorado mall

SNOWMASS, Colo. (AP) - Police in a Colorado mountain village had to put down a bear cub after an officer accidentally injured it while trying to chase it away from a snack delivery left unattended outside a mall.

The Aspen Times reports that a Snowmass officer tried to chase off the cub by striking its backside with a non-lethal beanbag fired from a shotgun - a common tactic for common village run-ins with bears.

Police Chief Brian Olson says the cub turned just as the officer fired. The beanbag seriously injured its stomach area.

Olson says a “heavy-hearted” decision was made to euthanize the cub Friday night. Its mother and another cub are OK.

Olson says police are trying to find who left the snacks outside.