LEWISTON — After rampaging through a local mall earlier in the day, a moose was shot Monday early afternoon by police in the backyard of a downtown apartment building.

The cow moose, weighing roughly 500 pounds, took refuge at the shaded lawn behind the Pine Street building after suffering a broken leg, police said.

Police used two rounds from a 12-gauge shotgun to kill the animal.

Reports of a moose in the city’s downtown area had been reported the past couple of weeks. Police believe the same moose that smashed through a window at the Lewiston Mall around 1 a.m. Monday in front of Bull Moose Music is the same one that came to its end at Pine Street. Officers noticed cuts on the animal’s legs, likely from the plate glass window at the mall. A passerby called 911 Monday morning after seeing the moose breaking into the mall and setting off alarms. It couldn’t find its way out, Lt. Mark Cornelio said.

Police called a mall worker, who opened the entrance doors and the moose ran out, Cornelio said.

Later, the moose apparently collided with a car and broke its leg, Cornelio said.

After police shot the moose, a Public Works truck hauled away the carcass and took it to the local landfill, Cornelio said. Normally, the meat would have been donated to a local shelter, but given the animal’s unusual behavior, it might have been sick, Cornelio said.

A moose that appeared to be the same one that was spotted in the mall was seen running down the middle of Turner Street in downtown Auburn about 12:30 a.m. Monday. It crossed Court Street, went behind the parking garage and took Mechanics Row to Main Street and ran toward New Auburn.

 A moose limps around the backyard of an apartment building on Pine Street in Lewiston Monday afternoon.