What was done to try to catch the shark? Why did people react this way?

Wire nets were placed at the mouth of the creek so the shark could not escape. Men all over the region were reaching for their rifles and harpoons to hunt the beast down and kill it. A one-hundred dollar reward was offered by the mayor of Matawan for the person who killed it. Men on the banks prepared dynamite explosives that would surely end the man-eater's days. They were trying to kill this shark out of fear and anger for what it had done and what it was capable of doing.