Polar bear kills woman and boy after entering Alaska village

A polar bear has killed a woman and a boy after entering a community in western Alaska.

Authorities are now working to notify the family members of the attack that occurred at 2:30 p.m. Tuesday in Wales, on the western tip of the Seward Peninsula.

Alaska State Troopers said: "Initial reports indicate that a polar bear had entered the community and had chased multiple residents.”

"The bear fatally attacked an adult female and juvenile male,” troopers wrote.

The bear was shot and killed by a local resident as it attacked the pair, troopers said.

The victims were identified as Summer Myomick, 24, and her 1-year-old son, Clyde Ongtowasruk, Austin McDaniel, communications director for the Alaska Department of Public Safety, said in a statement Wednesday.

Wales is a small, predominantly Inupiaq town of about 150 people, just over 100 miles (161 kilometers) northwest of Nome.

Fatal polar bear attacks have been rare in Alaska's recent history. In 1990, a polar bear killed a man farther north of Wales in the village of Point Lay.

Scientists later said the animal showed signs of starvation.

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