U.S.A. –-(AmmoLand.com)- In the afternoon of 11 January 2021, a family with two small children and two small dogs was walking along the El Dorado bike trail. They were just outside of Placerville, California, on the east side. The trail there is paved. The weather was very good for walking, the sky was clear and the temperature was about 55 degrees F, with a light breeze. The two small children were in a stroller.
The couple noticed a mountain lion behind them on the trail. They shouted at the lion. It continued to follow them for several minutes. The family called 911. A veteran deputy from the El Dorado Sheriff's department made good time reaching their location. It was seven minutes from the 911 call to his arrival on the scene, about 200 yards east of where the El Dorado trail crosses the Smith Flat School Road, not far outside the city limits.
El Dorado Sheriff's department requires every patrol vehicle to have a Remington 870 shotgun and a dedicated less-lethal beanbag shotgun in the vehicle. If patrol officers take and pass a rifle course, they may be issued a Colt AR15 style rifle in .223 caliber. The issue ammunition is a 55 grain Hornaday soft tip TAP. Almost all of the patrol deputies have rifles; most of them have purchased their own optical sights to put on the rifles, which are issued with iron sights as standard.
When the deputy arrived at the young family's location, he exited the vehicle with a Colt AR15 style rifle in .223 caliber.
The mountain lion was not deterred, even after the deputy arrived. The deputy tried shouting at the animal.
