Petersburg Pilot -

SITKA (AP) — A bear going through trash has been killed by authorities in Sitka, a community that experienced a record number of bear incidents last year.

The weekend shooting of the male brown bear by Sitka police was the first bear shooting this year in the southeast Alaska city, the Daily Sitka Sentinel reported. Last year, 14 bears were killed in and around Sitka, which the newspaper reports was a record for the community.

Steve Bethune, a wildlife biologist with the Alaska Department of Fish and Game, said four shots were fired, at least two of which hit the bear.

Police received...