Girl hit by bullet fragment during bear removal operation

A 13-year-old girl was rushed to hospital Friday after being hit by a bullet fragment near Jan Lake, Sask. while a conservation officer was trying to take down a bear.

She was struck just after10 p.m. CST after two local outfitting camps called conservation officers to remove four problem bears from the area.

A Ministry of Environment conservation officer used a shotgun to fire upwards at the bears, which were in a tree.

A member of the public shot one of the bears with his own gun when it fell to the ground.

The girl was standing in the back of a half-ton truck about 75 metres away and was hitby a ricochet bullet fragment from one of the shotgun discharges.

All four bears were killed,a Ministry of Environment spokesperson said.

Pelican Narrows RCMP seized a number of firearms from the scene and are investigating the matter with support from the Ministry of Environment.

RCMPsay the girl's injuries are non life-threatening.

The Ministry of Environment has dealt with multiple bears in the Jan Lake area recently,including the live-trapping of a bear last week.

Jan Lake is located about 30 kilometres south of Pelican Narrows, Sask.