Mountain lion attack kills 21-year-old man, injures younger brother in California

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A mountain lion killed a 21-year-old man and injured his 18-year-old brother in a remote area of Northern California’s foothills on Saturday, authorities said.

The brothers were hunting for shed antlers near Georgetown in El Dorado County when the mountain lion attacked, the El Dorado County Sheriff’s Office said.

The younger brother called the sheriff’s officer around 1:15 p.m. to report the attack and said he was separated from his brother. 

Deputies arrived around 1:30 p.m. to find the 18-year-old with traumatic injuries to his face and began to administer aid. Other deputies found the missing brother lying on the ground as the mountain lion crouched over him, according to officials.

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A mountain lion in Northern California attacked two brothers who were hunting for shed antlers near Georgetown in El Dorado County on Saturday afternoon, authorities said. (nps.gov, File)

Deputies fired their service weapons to scare off the mountain lion, which sat between the deputies and the victim. Once the mountain lion ran away, deputies raced to the older brother, but he was found deceased.

Minutes after finding the injured younger brother, deputies found the older brother lying on the ground with the mountain lion crouching over him, according to the sheriff’s office. (El Dorado County Sheriff’s Office)

Wardens and Trappers from the California Department of Fish and Wildlife along with the El Dorado County Trapper responded to the area and located the mountain lion. The sheriff’s office said the big cat was euthanized.

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The brothers have yet to be publicly identified. No updates on the younger brother’s condition were immediately available.

Wildlife officers later located the mountain lion and euthanized the predator. (iStock)

Georgetown is a historic town of just over 2,000 people located about 50 miles northeast of Sacramento.

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Since the mid-80s, there have been nearly two dozen reported mountain lion attacks on humans, according to a verified list kept by the fish and wildlife department. The last fatal encounter, however, was in 2004 in Orange County.