Just north of NYC, a bear assaults a 7-year-old who is playing in his backyard

 Just north of NYC, a bear assaults a 7-year-old who is playing in his backyard

Authorities said that a black bear assaulted a 7-year-old kid outside a suburban New York home on Tuesday. The young patient was transported to a neighboring hospital where non-life-threatening wounds were attended to.

About 45 miles northeast of New York City, in the town of Bedford in Westchester County, the incident took place.

In the backyard of the family home, the youngster was playing with a brother when he was attacked about 11 a.m. on Tuesday, according to authorities.

Police from North Castle arrived on the scene.

As soon as possible, the boy's parents acted to save their youngster, which was "extremely brave," according to Police Chief Peter Simonsen, who spoke to News 12 local news station. That is what responsible parents do.

Emergency workers attended to the youngster on the spot before transporting him to Northern Westchester Hospital.

Officials shot and killed the bear.

According to NBC New York, Simonsen stated, "Our concern was that [the bear] did not retreat, so at one point he did advance." An animal would often retreat in the presence of that many humans, yet it did not.

According to authorities, bear sightings are becoming more frequent in Westchester.

According to statistics from the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, Westchester Magazine reported last year that there were two recorded sightings in the county in 2019, 11 in 2020, and 16 in 2021.

Officials estimate that there are at least 8,000 bears in the Empire State. Human assaults are uncommon, though.