On Tuesday, September 16th, a 175-pound female black bear broke into a Dollar General supermarket in Sussex County, New Jersey, and injured a woman inside the store. In a moment of urgency, a brave bystander immediately guided the bear to exit through the front door.
Local authorities stated that real estate agent Sean Clarkin guided the bear through multiple aisles and successfully escorted it out of the supermarket through the front entrance.
According to a video posted on Instagram by the police, Clarkin continuously led the bear to follow him and requested everyone to clear the pathway to the front door.
“Come on, buddy, come on,” Clarkin said as the bear approached the door, “Be free, buddy, be free.”
Instagram users praised the courage of this bystander.
Before the bear appeared at Dollar General, approximately two hours earlier, law enforcement reported finding a mother bear behaving erratically, “darting through traffic” near Route 94. A spokesperson for the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection stated that rubber bullets were fired at the bear by the authorities, forcing it to flee into the woods.
As per the New Jersey Division of Fish and Wildlife statement, the bear entered Dollar General around 3:45 p.m. local time and bit a female customer on the leg. The injured woman was taken to a local hospital for treatment.
Around 3:55 p.m., the local police received a 911 call from an employee at Dollar General, reporting a bear inside the store. The employee mentioned that the bear had “made contact” with a customer in the store during the call.
Moments later, the owner of a property next to Dollar General called to report that a bear had just attacked his dog and chased two of his employees.
A spokesperson for the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection confirmed that ultimately, it was a customer inside the store who managed to lead the bear out of Dollar General.
After the bear left the store, police arrived and found its trail in the parking lot, tracking it to a property across the street.
Authorities indicated that in accordance with the New Jersey Division of Fish and Wildlife’s protocol for handling “Category One bears,” the bear would be euthanized by the police.
As per regulations by the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, Category One bears are those that pose a threat to public safety and property, such as bears that attack humans, enter residential areas, or damage crops.