A teenage girl riding in an all-night bicycle race suffered severe injuries early Sunday when a bear attacked her on a trail in Far North Bicentennial Park, authorities said.
Police officers with shotguns escorted medics into dark woods to retrieve the girl, who was to undergo surgery at Providence Alaska Medical Center. The hospital reported she was still in surgery at 6:30 a.m. Sunday.
“She was cut up and bit pretty good,” said Anchorage police Officer Jean Mills.
Police declined to identify the victim.
I read the whole article, twice in fact, to try and figure out why the police brought their guns into the park, but it didn’t say anything about that.