As sad as this is I honestly don't hold the shooter at fault. I absolve him of all guilt because, in the end his intent was to save his friend and in the same situation I probably would have done the same. There's no way I could have stood by and let my friend or brother be mauled by an extremely large and dangerous animal if I thought there was any way to stop the attack.
Who can honestly say that in the same situation where your buddy was being severly injured by a very large and dangerous animal that your mind would be completely clear and thinking about the consequences? If you were extremely afraid and worried about the survival of your friend would you not do whatever you thought was necessary to save him?
I'm sure that all the guy was thinking was "Oh my god my friend is relying on me to get this beast off of him and I can't let him down." as he fired those shots.
I don't hold him responsible at all and while he probably should have been more careful, I can't say for sure that I would have thought clearly in the exact same circumstances and done any different. Within the circumstances I'd honestly say that I believe he did the right thing regardless of the end result. The difference between a fool and a hero is the result. If he'd shot a foot higher he'd have killed the bear and been a hero but since he didn't he's the guy that accidentally killed his buddy.
If I knew the guy I'd shake his hand and thank him for trying to protect his friend.
Who can honestly say that in the same situation where your buddy was being severly injured by a very large and dangerous animal that your mind would be completely clear and thinking about the consequences? If you were extremely afraid and worried about the survival of your friend would you not do whatever you thought was necessary to save him?
I'm sure that all the guy was thinking was "Oh my god my friend is relying on me to get this beast off of him and I can't let him down." as he fired those shots.
I don't hold him responsible at all and while he probably should have been more careful, I can't say for sure that I would have thought clearly in the exact same circumstances and done any different. Within the circumstances I'd honestly say that I believe he did the right thing regardless of the end result. The difference between a fool and a hero is the result. If he'd shot a foot higher he'd have killed the bear and been a hero but since he didn't he's the guy that accidentally killed his buddy.
If I knew the guy I'd shake his hand and thank him for trying to protect his friend.