A resident shot and killed a mountain lion attacking their neighbor’s dog in a California neighborhood, officials said. The dog was in the cougar’s jaws as the neighbor fired and didn’t survive the attack, a California Department of Fish and Wildlife spokesperson told McClatchy News in a phone interview Tuesday, Jan. 14.

Downieville, on Highway 49 about 40 miles northwest of Truckee, made headlines as the site of California’s first documented fatal black bear attack on a person. Patrice Miller, 71, was killed in 2023 by a bear in her home.

The sheriff's office said it received several reports of mountain lion sightings in the Upper Main Street area of Downieville.

A public safety warning has been issued after reports of mountain lion sightings in Northern California, according to the Sierra County Sheriff’s Office. Officials said the sightings have been in the Upper Main Street area of Downieville.