A black bear waltzed into an Arizona cabin Thursday and mauled a 15-year-old boy watching TV before the teen’s brave family chased the bruin off.
Brigham Hawkins, who suffers from a rare neurological disorder, was watching television after a long day of fishing in Alpine when the bear walked through the open front door of his cabin.
The black bear took several swipes at Hawkins, sparking a furious effort by his loved ones, who were in a nearby cabin, to fend off the beast after they heard the boy screaming, according to reports.
“He hadn’t realized it because it came in from behind, and it reached over and like swiped at his face twice. Got him on the nose and the cheek and then went ahead and got his forehead and the top of his head,” his mother Carol Hawkins told AZ Family.
Brigham’s older brother, Parker, heard the commotion and rushed to his sibling. At first, he thought it was a giant dog, but quickly realized it was a bear when it started pursuing him, his mother told 12 News.
“Parker ran up on the porch and went into the other cabin to get away from the bear,” she recalled.
“And the bear just paced back and forth on our porch.”
Meanwhile, Brigham’s father sprinted to help his son in the cabin as he suffered injuries from the brazen attack, Carol Hawkins said. He made it safely and called 911.
Authorities reached the scene and tracked down the 3-year-old bear about 120 feet from the cabin, where it was killed.
“It was thanks to the quick reaction by his brother and his family that they were able to distract the bear from what very easily in a matter of seconds could have turned into a real tragedy there,” state Game and Fish Department Law Enforcement Supervisor Shawn Wagner told AZ Family.
Hawkins said her family was upset to hear the bear was killed, but knew it had to be done.
“People that … don’t understand wildlife or Arizona think that you know, this is just normal bear behavior, and we should be understanding,” Hawkins told 12 News.
“I just wish people could understand … this is not what you would expect, this is not normal. For whatever reason, there was something wrong with this bear, something was off.”
This is the 16th time a bear has attacked a person in the Copper State since 1990, with two of those fatal, according to reports.
Brigham suffered gashes to his face and arm, but is expected to make a full recovery.
“We’re extremely blessed and feel that somebody was most definitely watching over him because … he’s very small and has lots of medical issues and there was nothing he could have done to chase off this bear or fight off this bear,” Hawkins told the station.
“He just … he was protected.”
