Brian Knowlton and his wife initially thought the male bear was a burglar when they heard glass breaking about 2:30 a.m. Friday, police said. The 275-pound bear apparently entered the two-story home through a door with a broken latch.

Knowlton and his wife were asleep in their bedroom with the door closed when their Rottweiler started barking wildly inside the room. The couple awoke and heard the breaking glass.

Brian Knowlton quickly figured out the intruder's real identity, said his father, Stan Knowlton, who lives next door.

"He opens the (bedroom) door and he's face to face with this big black bear," said Stan Knowlton. "He slammed the door right away."

Brian Knowlton yelled to his wife to get behind the bed. Amid the commotion, the bear moved away from the bedroom.

Knowlton grabbed a .40-caliber Glock automatic and ventured out into the main part of the house.

The bear was downstairs. Just then, the animal came running up the stairs. Knowlton emptied his gun. The wounded bear retreated downstairs.

Knowlton, who didn't know if the bear was dead, called police. Responding officers found the animal dead in a bathroom. It had been shot four times, said state wildlife biologist Rick Sinnott.

Reports of bears breaking into Anchorage area houses come in a few times a year, according to Sinnott. Last month a black bear ripped through a window screen and tried to climb inside until the frightened homeowner batted it away with a stool.

Sinnott said Knowlton is not in any trouble for shooting the bear.

"When bears enter houses like that they're crossing a line that shouldn't be crossed," he said.