Deputy accidentally shoots bear with live bullet in Lake Tahoe

A Washoe County Sheriff's deputy trying to scare off a group of bears in Incline Village Saturday morning shot the mother bear with a live round instead of a rubber round.

At approximately 10:45 a.m. on Saturday, May 6, 2017, deputies responded to a report of a group of bears near residences in the area of Driver Way and Village Boulevard in Incline Village.

On arrival, deputies encountered a mother bear and three cubs. This group of bears had been previously identified as food aggressive and deputies have had numerous encounters with this group in recent weeks.

During today’s encounter, the adult bear, Jasper, was injured by one of the deputies who intended to shoot a rubber round to scare the bear away but accidentally loaded a live round.

Lifesaving measures began. The Nevada Department of Wildlife (NDOW) was notified and arrived on scene at approximately noon. They transported the adult bear to a veterinarian for evaluation and treatment. NDOW says the cubs are old enough to be on their own and that NDOW will formulate a management plan for the cubs.

As of Saturday evening, Jasper is in stable condition and will be under close veterinary monitoring for the next 24-48 hours. All wounds have been cleaned and sutured and x-rays show no major bone damage. She has been given antibiotics to control the chance of infection as well as pain medication.