Toronto police E T F members shoot bear in northeast residential area

Toronto police shot and killed a bear as it roamed through a residential area of the city late Friday night. (Photo: Jitze Couperus/Flickr)

Toronto police shot and killed a bear as it roamed through a residential area of the city late Friday night.

A 42 Division spokesman said Emergency Task Force members were deployed to a neighbourhood in northeast Toronto after multiple bear sightings were reported.

The police official said the animal, which according to unconfirmed eyewitness reports was an adult black bear, was rummaging through backyards, and at one point banged on the door of a residence.

He said E-T-F officers shot the bear (in the Middlefield and McCowan Road area) after animal control officials advised police that they were not equipped to deal with the potentially dangerous situation.

There were no reports of any people or pets being injured.

Police had no immediate information about where the bear came from, its gender, or whether a post-mortem examination would be performed to try to determine if it was suffering from any abnormalities.