Ryan Beierman told The Minnesota Star Tribune the bear pierced its fangs into his forehead during the attack. He had to get 23 stitches.

A dad is calling his 12-year-old son a hero after the boy saved his life during a black bear attack while on a hunting trip in Burnett County, Wis.

A 12-year-old boy potentially saved his father’s life when he fired one shot from rifle, killing a wounded black bear that was mauling him, The Associated Press reports.