Killed at school by a polar bear
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A YOUNG mum and her baby have been mauled to death by a polar bear outside a school.
Summer Myomick had bundled up her son against the 50mph winds whipping off the Bering Sea in Alaska and stepped out into a blur of falling snow.
The 24-year-old mum could hardly see where she was going, let alone spot the terror that was approaching.
She was near the entrance to Kingikmiut School, in Wales, just south of the Arctic Circle, when she and oneyear-old Clyde Ongtowasruk were attacked and mauled by the rampaging bear on Tuesday afternoon.
It was the first fatal attack in Alaska for around 30 years.
As the horror unfolded, the headteacher ordered a lockdown and closed the blinds so the shocked children could not see what was unfolding outside.
Several staff and community members then left the building – which doubles as a community centre – and tried to scare away the bear with shovels.
The mauling stopped temporarily as the animal turned on them and began to chase them. They had to run back inside the building.
School principal Dawn Hendrickson then slammed the door on the oncoming beast, possibly saving many lives, according to Susan Nedza, chief administrator of Bering Strait School District.
She said: “The bear was chasing them and tried to get in as well. It was just horrific. Something you never think you would ever experience.”
There is no law enforcement in Wales so, with the bear still outside, a call went out for help. A resident then arrived with a gun and killed the animal as it continued to maul Summer and her son.
It appears the mum – who also had a three-year-old daughter – had no idea what was coming because of the blizzard, said Alaska State Troopers spokesman Austin Mcdaniel.
Summer and Clyde’s remains were sent for a postmortem in Anchorage.
Local administrator Virginia Washington said: “It’s very, very sad. She was a sweet, responsible lady.” Wales, a whaling community, is the western-most point on the North American mainland and is just 50 miles from Russia across the Bering Strait. It is home to about 150 people, almost all of them Inupiat.
The school was closed for classes for the rest of the week and counsellors were flown in to comfort students.