He Shot a Bear in Alaska. Then the Unheard Of Happened

Getting hurt by a bear in Alaska is rare but not unheard of. But William McCormick's injury is more of the unheard of kind: The Army soldier suffered "life-threatening injuries" last weekend when a bear he shot fell on him. McCormick was hunting with Zachary Tennyson, 19, near Moose Pass; both are stationed at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Anchorage. They shot a bear positioned above them on a ridge, KTVA reports, and troopers explained the bear then began to roll down the ridge, "dislodging rocks in the process. [McCormick] was injured when he was struck by both a rock and the bear."

It's unclear how far the bear was from the men when they shot it, and details about the bear itself weren't available. Tennyson was uninjured; KTUU reports McCormick was carried to a helicopter and airlifted to Providence Alaska Medical Center in Anchorage. (This bear killed a hiker in Alaska and mauled a volunteer who went looking for him.)