Bear Wanders Through Hospital in Virginia

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ROCKY MOUNT, Va. - An adult black bear was shot and killed after it wandered into a hospital, authorities said.

The 300-pound male bear was first spotted walking along a street Tuesday night, authorities said. When the bear wandered in front of the nearby Carilion Franklin Memorial Hospital, it activated a sensor that opens the hospital's doors.

The bear walked into a computer room and two police officers shut the door behind the animal, said Lt. Karl Martin of the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries.

Officers planned to sedate the bear, but they were worried what might happen if the bear got loose in the hospital. So an officer shot and killed the bear.

No one was injured. The computer room sustained minor damage, Martin said.

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Specializes in Medical/Surgical/Maternal and Child.
ROCKY MOUNT, Va. - An adult black bear was shot and killed after it wandered into a hospital, authorities said.

The 300-pound male bear was first spotted walking along a street Tuesday night, authorities said. When the bear wandered in front of the nearby Carilion Franklin Memorial Hospital, it activated a sensor that opens the hospital's doors.

The bear walked into a computer room and two police officers shut the door behind the animal, said Lt. Karl Martin of the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries.

Officers planned to sedate the bear, but they were worried what might happen if the bear got loose in the hospital. So an officer shot and killed the bear.

No one was injured. The computer room sustained minor damage, Martin said.

That was horrible that they shot the poor bear....

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Specializes in IMCU/Telemetry.
That was horrible that they shot the poor bear....

Better the bear then a pt or staff member.

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Specializes in Hemodialysis, Home Health.

Not surprised.. there a lots of black bear here, and Rocky Mount is just that..

No, I don't think they needed to shoot the bear, either, but then again, it's kinda "Rocky Mount mentality". The bear was locked in a computer room, for heaven's sake. Surely he could have been sedated? But then the cops there wouldn't have looked as big heros to the local kids. Around here, it's called "shoot the sob" ! Sad, but not too much value is placed on an animal's life in some parts of the state. :o

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Specializes in Med/Surg, Corrections.

OMG! That makes me so sad! They could have stood guard and shot it if they saw it trying to escape but.....

We have taken away so much of their natural habitat. We don't have bear problems here but we do have a deer problem because of this. Many accidents happen because of deer. The county has a bait and shoot program in our parks just to keep the population in control because they would starve.

It is just such a sad situation with no easy answers. I wish there was more respect for the animals that shared THEIR land with us.

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Specializes in Hemodialysis, Home Health.
OMG! That makes me so sad! They could have stood guard and shot it if they saw it trying to escape but.....

We have taken away so much of their natural habitat. We don't have bear problems here but we do have a deer problem because of this. Many accidents happen because of deer. The county has a bait and shoot program in our parks just to keep the population in control because they would starve.

It is just such a sad situation with no easy answers. I wish there was more respect for the animals that shared THEIR land with us.

Couldn't agree more. A deer ran into teh side of my car Tues., and it was right in town. There's just less and less habitat for them... even here in the mountains and boonies, where I live. Sad situation.

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Poor bear! Doesn't sound like anyone was in any danger to justify shooting it, but then as Jnette said... guess they just had to make it look like they were heroes. Kind of like spearing fish in a tank.

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sounds to me like administration didn't want to take the chance of the bear damaging expensive computer equipment in the room he was contained in. Sad!

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Personally, I wouldn't want them to wait until that 300 lb animal starts causing a problem. Once they've gone into town, I don't see anything wrong with shooting it. If I had a shotgun, I wouldn't wait for a bear to charge me while someone's getting a tranquilizer.

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I lived in N. Virginia in a heavily suburban area. Every now and again a black bear and once, a mountain lion would wander into a neighborhood. They always sedated the bears and moved them back to the national forest. The cougar, luckily for it, left on its own I think. I'm sure they would not have waited around if they didn't have a tranquilizer gun handy.

If the bear was locked in a room with no people, I don't really see a reason to kill it.

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Specializes in HIV/AIDS, Dementia, Psych.

Poor baby :o Sometimes we humans have no compassion. Too bad it couldn't have been sedated and set free.

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What a shame. :( There were probably plenty of ways to handle that besides killing it. Gotta love the south :( Animals are merely disposable around here.

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