COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. -- Colorado wildlife officials say a man who shot and killed a young bear in his home in Green Mountain Falls was protecting children who were sleeping upstairs.

Colorado Division of Wildlife spokesman Michael Seraphin said Christopher Pease killed the 18-month-old bear around 2 a.m. Saturday after it broke through a window and entered the house. Seraphin said Pease tried to shoo the bear outside but fired two shots when the bear started up the stairs to a loft area where Pease's daughter was hosting a sleepover.

Initial reports that the bear was a cub angered some who thought that shooting it was unnecessary, according to the Colorado Springs Gazette.

Seraphin said that the bear was nearly full grown, just weeks away from leaving its mother, and was a real threat inside Pease’s home.

Seraphin also defended Pease, saying the house featured nothing that normally attracts bears, such as bird feeders or unsecured trash.