A cabin getaway turned into a horror movie for one family. A black bear attacked a teen watching TV in an Arizona cabin. His family managed to fend off the beast.
Brigham Hawkins, who has a rare neurological disorder, was unwinding after a long day. He had went fishing with his family and was tired, so he decided to watch some TV. That's when a black bear charged through the open door of the family's cabin. Nearby family came to Hawkins' aid as the black bear swiped at him and attacked him.
"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. His older brother thought it was a giant dog at first, but he quickly realized that it was a bear.
"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." Brigham's father rushed to his son's aid and called emergency authorities to help them. Authorities later tracked down the bear near the cabin and killed it.
Authorities Track Down The Bear
"It was thanks to the quick reaction by his brother and his family that they were able to distract the animal 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. The family was upset that authorities killed the bear. "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.
She continued, "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."
As a result of the attack, Brigham had gashes on both his face and arm but will survive. "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."
