Bear killed after getting inside Alaska post office

ANCHORAGE, Alaska – A 300-pound black bear was killed after it wandered into an Anchorage post office.

Anchorage television station KTVA reports the bear got inside the building Sunday after walking through an open door near the loading dock.

The facility was closed, but U.S. Postal Service spokeswoman Dawn Peppinger says about 75 employees were sorting mail when the bear got inside the post office near the Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport.

Employees notified airport police. The bear climbed on a conveyor belt and wound up in an area where garbage is compacted.

Airport Deputy Police Chief Dave Schulling says several officers responded, and found the animal near several dozen people. The bear was killed when officers’ efforts to get the animal back outside failed.