Scared of what goes bump in the night, a camper allegedly grabbed a gun and shot his friend twice – once in the arm and once in the face, last weekend.
The incident took place Saturday, September 24, during a camping trip along the Nitinat River.
Two 22-year-old men were camping, and had a licensed firearm they’d intended to make use of shooting clay pigeons with birdshot.
At about 5 a.m., one of the men became spooked by what he thought was a bear outside his tent.
“One of the males discharged his firearm in the direction he thought the bear to be,” Lake Cowichan RCMP Sgt. Dave Voller said. The numerous shots were through the tent.
The firearm was presumably filled with the same birdshot used to shoot clay pigeons.
“The river is filling up quickly with salmon, so there’s no lack of bears at this time.”
The man drove his friend to the Youbou area, where he was then picked up by an ambulance, and brought to the Cowichan District Hospital, and then the Royal Jubilee Hospital in Victoria.
He’s currently in intensive care, in stable non life-threatening condition.
Both of the men are from out of town.
The bear has yet to be found.