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HUNTERSVILLE, N.C. – More than 100 people celebrated Independence Day by watching a symbolic bird retake flight. The Carolina Raptor Center rehabbed the federally protected bird and then released it at a special ceremony in Huntersville Monday.

This American bald eagle was found shot in its wing six months ago in Franklin County. It was later determined that the bird also had lead poisoning.

An avian vet at the Raptor Center performed surgery on the bird to remove the metal fragments. It then took six months to recover from the poisoning and surgery.