Authorities have said that a Rutgers student, who was mauled to death by a black bear in September, snapped a photo of the animal before it chased and attacked him.
The Record of Hackensack reported that law enforcement officials released several photos Tuesday of the bear taken by Darsh Patel before the fatal attack.
The victim was hiking with friends at the Apshawa Preserve in West Milford, New Jersey when they encountered the bear.
A police report stated that the hikers spotted the animal when they were about 100 feet away from it. They took some pictures but when they were done the bear started to follow them. The group became frightened and ran in all different directions to get away from it, but it gave chase, attacked and mauled Patel to death.
USA Today noted previously that authorities found a black bear about four-years-old near his lifeless body. That animal was euthanized at the scene.
The photos, which were released after an open records request was filed, were taken from Patel’s cellphone. A puncture mark from the animal’s claw was found on the front of the device.