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VICTORIA — A 22-year-old man is recovering in Victoria General Hospital after his friend shot him in the face, mistaking him for a bear.

The two were camping near Vancouver Island’s Nitinat River early Saturday when one of the men was woken up by what he thought was a black bear trying to get into their tent, Const. Grant Desmet of Lake Cowichan RCMP said.The man grabbed a shotgun and fired several rounds in the direction of the “bear.”

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Instead, the pellets of the gun hit his friend — sleeping head-to-toe at the opposite end of the tent — in the face and the arm, causing severe injuries.

The shooter drove his bloody friend to Youbou, B.C., where they met B.C. Ambulance paramedics. The victim was taken to Cowichan District Hospital, then to Victoria General Hospital. He is in stable condition.

Lake Cowichan RCMP say they are investigating the incident but Desmet does not anticipate criminal charges.

Desmet said the men, from the Victoria area, were fishing on the river and brought the gun for protection against wild animals.

“I don’t know how much hunting or backwoods experience these guys had,” he said. “It begs the obvious question: Why aren’t you a little more careful with your firearm?”

Officers from the B.C. Conservation Service could not find evidence of a bear.

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