A western North Carolina man is facing charges after wildlife authorities said he used a 12-gauge shotgun with buckshot to fatally shoot a bear on his neighbor's property.
The incident occurred midday last week in a neighborhood in Buncombe County, northeast of Asheville, the Citizen-Times reported.
Officials with the N.C. Wildlife Resource Commission said a man reported that his neighbor shot the bear from across the street. Given that the bear was not aggressive, was not attacking anyone and was on another person’s property, officers told the newspaper there was no reason for the shooting in the confines of a neighborhood.
The 70-year-old man faces a minimum fine of $2,000 after being charged with negligent hunting, taking a wild animal and hunting during the closed season.
