How a 12-Year-Old Saved His Dad From a Bear Attack

A Wisconsin father and son had quite a harrowing experience near their cabin recently after a bear began mauling the dad, leaving his son to spring into action. 

Owen Beierman, 12, recounted the terrifying experience to KARE. He and his dad Ryan were hunting earlier this month when Owen spotted a black bear and shot it from a distance. After it escaped into the woods, the two chased after it and tried tracking it down following a blood trail and using a neighbor’s dog to pick up a scent. 

Finally, they came face-to-face with the 200-pound bear and it began mauling dad Ryan. 

“I had the pistol in my hand and I was hitting him in the head, trying to get him to let go,” the 43-year-old said. “I looked down and all I saw was teeth and claws coming at my face and I remember hearing the first bite.”

“Before I knew it, I was flat on my back,” he told CBS News of the fight. “I started pistol-whipping him and it felt like I was striking a brick wall. I tried hitting him between the ear and mouth with a blunt edge of the pistol.”

“I’m punching and kicking and flailing around. That’s when I saw a flash from the muzzle of Owen’s rifle,” he added. 

Owen jumped into action and shot the bear with a rifle while it was mauling his dad. The 12-year-old admitted he was thinking fast in the moment. 

“I saw [the bear] knock him to the ground and I just saw the black outline and shot over the dog’s back and hit the bear,” Owen told KARE. “I just felt like, ‘Shoot the bear and save my dad.’ It’s all I really remember.”

Ryan ended up requiring 23 stitches for a wound on his cheek that left his skin hanging. He suffered seven puncture wounds and a cut on his right arm.

“Owen was a hero,” the proud dad said. “He shot that bear and killed it on top of me.”