Neighbor ‘had no other choice’ when he shot bear attacking man, Pennsylvania cops say

A black bear attacked a man near his small-town Pennsylvania home, and a fast-acting neighbor likely saved his life, police told news outlets.

The attack happened on the morning of Sunday, Jan. 19, in Jim Thorpe — a town of 4,500 people roughly 80 miles northwest from Philadelphia, police told WBRE.

Andrew Nierer was on his way home after grocery shopping, walking on a wooded trail that connects to the grocery store, when the black bear emerged, WNEP reported.

Nierer tried to walk away from the bear, but it followed him, Police Chief Joe Schatz told TNOnline.com.

Nierer’s neighbor, Mike Bramich, witnessed the attack, as did a surveillance camera installed on his home, the outlet reported.

“It just up and jumped on him and grabbed him by the arm and wrestling him around here,” Bramich told WNEP.

Bramich rushed to help, gun in hand, the station reported. Video shows the bear on top of Nierer as Bramich comes into frame and moves up along the bear’s side, stopping at point-blank range.

“The neighbor had no other choice but to shoot and kill the bear,” Schatz told TNonline.

Nierer wasn’t seriously injured in the attack, and told WBRE he’s actually sorry for the bear, which witnesses say had been trying to get into a market in town before leaving and encountering Nierer.

“I think … she was scared because she was just down at the market, trying to get into the market. They’re hungry. They’re starving. They’re supposed to be in hibernation,” he told the station. “It could’ve been a lot worse. Luckily he saved me, he shot it. I feel bad for the bear ’cause they really do not bother you that much.”

McClatchy News reached out to the Pennsylvania Game Commission for comment but didn’t immediately receive a response.

This story was originally published January 21, 2025 at 10:34 AM with the headline "Neighbor ‘had no other choice’ when he shot bear attacking man, Pennsylvania cops say."