Additional Coverage:
In a harrowing encounter in Wisconsin, a 12-year-old boy named Owen Beierman saved his father’s life by shooting a black bear that was mauling him. Ryan Beierman, 43, was pinned by the 200-pound bear near their hunting cabin when Owen fired from his rifle.
Ryan had initially wounded the bear while hunting with Owen. When they later searched for the animal, it charged Ryan from a close distance. Despite firing eight shots with his pistol, Ryan missed, and the bear attacked.
Ryan fought back desperately, but the bear was relentless. As the animal lunged at his head, Owen intervened, firing a shot that killed the bear. Ryan, who suffered bites and wounds, said he would have been killed without his son’s quick thinking.
The attack lasted about 45 seconds, and Ryan was taken to the hospital with 23 stitches in his cheek and other injuries. Despite the ordeal, Ryan and Owen’s hunt was deemed legal by a conservation officer.