The search for a wounded black bear shot by police Thursday night in a Vancouver suburb has ended, with finding the animal and putting it down.

Police and conservation officers were called to a busy park in Port Coquitlam, about 30 kilometres east of the city, after residents spotted the bearThursday and said it was acting "aggressively."

Officers tracked the bear down, but the bear lunged at the officers, forcing Sgt. Todd Hunter to shoot the 200-pound animal.

Hunter told CTV Vancouver he had to protect himself and act quickly.

The wounded bear ran into a wooded area and officers lost track of it. But they returned early Friday morning with tracking dogs and were able to locate the bear.

"Conservation Officers, along with Coquitlam RCMP Officers returned to the restricted area, early this morning, quickly locating this aggressive and injured bear, which had to be destroyed, by a Conservation Officer, in order to ensure public safety," the RCMP said in a statement.

Hunter believes garbage bins in the park and nearby homes may have attracted the bear.

"Not every officer enjoys this but it's part of our duty. We have to protect the public," Hunter told CTV Vancouver. "It was put down very quickly."

This isn't the first bear incident in B.C.’s Lower Mainland this week. A North Vancovuer woman is recovering after being clawed by a bear earlier this week. She managed to scare the animal away and when crews arrived the found the bear, tranquilized it and removed it from the area.

Conservation officers are reminding B.C. residents to properly lock up their garbage.