HARBIN, Oct. 12 -- Police shot dead a black bear in northeast China's Heilongjiang province early on Monday morning when it broke into a middle school campus.

Police in Raohe County received call at about 5 a.m. that a black bear was in the county's No.3 Middle School, putting the lives of students in dormitories at risk.

"The bear was roaring. It appeared upset and dangerous," said an unnamed witness. Several windows in the dormitory building and teaching building were smashed.

Police and firefighters soon evacuated students and residents who lived near the school, before firing on the bear.

Raohe County is on the Sino-Russia border where an improved environment has given rise to increased reports of tigers and bears crossing the border.

A black bear, which was spotted swimming across the border river, was captured and released into the wild after causing a stir in a town of Raohe in August.

It is not known whether the bear killed on Monday was from Russia.