The bear cub was paralyzed and had to be put down. The Department of Energy and Environmental Protection is investigating.
The resident told police his dog was on a runner in the back yard when he noticed three bears, a mother and two cubs, by the tree line.
When one of the cubs approached the dog in an aggressive manner, the resident grabbed his pellet gun from the garage and fired one round at the cub, police said.
He assumed the shot would scare the bears away. He brought his dog inside the house and returned a few moments later to see the bears still in his yard. One of them was not moving, police said.
He called police at 9:11 a.m. to report the incident. The DEEP tranquilized the mother and the other cub while they euthanized the injured cub, police said.
It is unclear if any charges will be filed. State statute allows someone to shoot a bear if it is attacking livestock or domestic animals, police said.
By Hilda Munoz, Hartford Courant