Minnesota wildlife officials are defending their decision to shoot a black bear that was spotted in a North St. Paul neighborhood.

The bear walked into the area Friday morning and climbed a tree. Workers with the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources responded, shooting beanbags at the bear to scare it down.

It clambered down about 90 minutes later. As it tried to flee, DNR agents shot and killed it.

The DNR says state policy mandates that animals that pose a public threat be shot. It says the bear was a threat because it was near an elementary school.

The agency says it didn’t have time to prepare tranquilizer equipment before the 2-year-old bear came down. Even so, it says, tranquilizing a bear doesn’t prevent it from returning to the community.