![\"Bear_Attack\"](\"https:\/\/monachuslex.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/04\/Bear_Attack-300x169.jpg\")
A Massachusetts man is facing charges of\u00a0illegal possession of a firearm and failing to secure a weapon after using a shotgun to kill a bear that began chasing him in his own backyard while he was stocking his bird feeders.<\/p>\nA Massachusetts man is facing charges of\u00a0illegal possession of a firearm and failing to secure a weapon after using a shotgun to kill a bear that began chasing him in his own backyard while he was stocking his bird feeders.<\/p>\n
The man in question is 76 year old Richard\u00a0Ahlstrand of Auburn Massachusetts and the bear was 7 feet tall and pushing 400 pounds. \u00a0But despite the reasonable fear that a 76 year old man might feel in such a situation, the local prosecutors have gone after Mr. Ahlstrand with a vengeance.<\/p>\n
When he went out that afternoon, he took his shotgun because he had seen the bear the day before and feared that it might still be around. \u00a0But local officials have used Mr. Ahlstrand’s bird feeder and the presence of the shotgun as the basis of additional charges of\u00a0illegally baiting a bear and\u00a0illegally killing a bear.<\/p>\n
Apparently, the only thing that Mr. Ahlstrand could have done to satisfy local officials would have been to lay down and die. \u00a0He says that \u201cThey got me set up now like I\u2019m some kind of murderer. \u00a0And then the environmental guy told me \u2018You should have called me instead of shooting it.\u2019 \u00a0What was I going to do, say \u2018Mister Bear would you excuse me please while I go make a phone call?\u2019<\/em>\u201d<\/p>\n