CLEARFIELD — An Altoona man is facing charges for shooting a hunter while they were hunting bear in Cooper Township in Clearfield County in November.

Frank M. Ferguson, 47, was charged with a misdemeanor count of shooting at or causing injury to a human being while hunting, and a summary count of shooting on or across a highway by the Pennsyl­vania Game Commission in connection with an incident on Nov. 17.

According to the affidavit of probable cause, two game wardens were pa­trolling the area when they came upon a group of hunters on the roadway. A hunter who was already on the phone to Clearfield County Control told the wardens one of them had been shot.

The wardens provided medical care to the victim, who had been shot in the left leg and was bleeding profusely. After EMS transported the victim to the hospital, they spoke with the hunters to investigate the incident.

The hunters said the group was doing a “drive,” which is a technique in which hunters walk through a field to flush animals to another location where other hunters wait.

During the drive, Fer­guson was allegedly standing on Cooper Township Road facing the victim in a straight line.

When a bear emerged from a cornfield, the victim shot it, and it immediately hit the ground. The victim reportedly said he then heard a shot from the direction Ferguson was standing and felt it hit his leg.

Ferguson stated he shot immediately after the victim shot and he struck the bear, which he said then disappeared into the woodlot.

The investigation re­vealed that the bear died from the shot from the victim and was not hit a second time. The shot fired by Ferguson allegedly missed the bear entirely before it struck the victim.

The injuries sustained by the victim “were a result of Ferguson carelessly shooting on or across the roadway and not identifying what was beyond his target, resulting in a line of fire incident,” according to the report.

Ferguson waived his right to a preliminary hearing Wednesday during centralized court in Clearfield County. He is free on $5,000 unsecured bail.