The recent fatal bear attack where 33-Year-Old Anthony Pollio was killed by a bear, about May 3, 2026, on the Mount Brown trail in Glacier National Park, is not the first bear attack on the trail. Some online sources are saying an empty can of bear spray was found at the attack site.
If so, the attack is another case where bear spray was used in defense against a bear, and people died.
There have been at least nine deaths associated with the use of bear spray in defense against a bear. There have not been any recorded deaths when a handgun has been fired in defense against a bear in North America. One person was killed in the Svalbard Islands, attempting to defend against a polar bear attack with a .22 pistol in 1995.
The last fatal bear attack in Glacier National Park occurred on May 18, 1998. 26-Year-Old Craig Dahl was killed by a human-habituated bear in a predatory attack. The park had experienced 8 non-fatal attacks on people in the park in the previous three years. Between the 1998 fatal attack and 2010, there were six more attacks. At least six bears were killed that had some connection to the attacks. Only one more attack was recorded in Glacier before 2014.
One of the reasons there have been no fatal bear attacks in Glacier National Park since 2010 is this: In 2010, legislation was signed that allowed visitors to the park to carry firearms for their defense in accordance with state law.
In 2014, Brian Murphy was attacked by a grizzly bear on the Mount Brown Trail in Glacier National Park. This correspondent wrote about it in October of 2014. The facts of the case are simple. Murphy was hiking the Mount Brown Trail alone on July 26, 2014. He observed a grizzly bear running toward other hikers. He yelled to warn the hikers. Then the bear turned and charged straight at him.
Murphy had both bear spray and a .357 magnum revolver. He started spraying bear spray at the bear as it charged up the hill toward him from about 20 feet away. The bear continued at him, and he fired one shot from the .357 at very close range, 7-10 feet. The bear went down and stopped moving.
Murphy moved with exemplary civic responsibility. He retreated back down the trail. He took the other two hikers who had been at threat from the bear with him. He warned others of the danger, stopping them and telling them not to proceed. He reported the incident to the park rangers.
The .357 magnum bullet had not killed the bear. It seems to have knocked it out temporarily. When park rangers investigated, everything they found was consistent with what Murphy had told them. When they examined his revolver, they found five live cartridges and one empty case in the six chambers.
Two months after the incident, Murphy was charged by the Park Service with discharging a firearm in the park. Murphy hired an attorney and fought the charge. The United States Attorney and the magistrate judge dismissed the charges with prejudice, meaning Murphy could not be charged for the action in the future. There is an obvious exception in United States law which allows firearms to be discharged in the park if it is necessary to protect oneself or others.
Brian Murphy did us all a favor when he refused to pay the unjust fine of $500 and refused to plead guilty to a false misdemeanor charge. It is certain he spent far more than $500 to hire an attorney and fight the National Park System. His case established a precedent that holds to this day. While the bear was not killed during the attack on Murphy, it probably learned that humans are very dangerous.
Dan Calvert Wallen also refused to accept an unjust punishment. He shot three grizzly bears on May 27, 2014, a couple of months before Brian Murphy, with a .22 rimfire rifle. The bears were on his property, and he believed they threatened his wife and children. The case was appealed to the Ninth Circuit, twice. In 2017, the case established a clear standard for the legal use of deadly force against bears. It is more lenient than the standard for the use of deadly force against people. The prosecutors had lied to the Ninth Circuit about the facts of the case. In 2021, the court ordered Wallen to be repaid the $25,000 he had paid in unjust restitution. Almost all grizzly bears in the United States are in the Ninth Circuit.
Bear spray works sometimes, if it is used. It may be as much as 90% of the time, depending on circumstances. Handguns work 98% of the time they are fired in defense against bears.
Handguns are effective in defending against bears, even grizzly bears. Update confirmation from dailyinterlake.com, May 13, 2026:
Search crews found a can of bear spray near where a Florida man was killed in an apparent bear attack in Glacier National Park earlier this month. The suspected attack near Mount Brown…
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About Dean Weingarten:
Dean Weingarten has been a peace officer, a military officer, was on the University of Wisconsin Pistol Team for four years, and was first certified to teach firearms safety in 1973. He taught the Arizona concealed carry course for fifteen years until the goal of Constitutional Carry was attained. He has degrees in meteorology and mining engineering, and retired from the Department of Defense after a 30 year career in Army Research, Development, Testing, and Evaluation.
