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(NEW YORK) — An archery hunter who was knocked down and bitten by a bear while hunting elk with his friend has survived the surprise attack, officials said.

The incident occurred on Sunday morning when the hunter and his friend were hunting elk west of Henrys Lake in Island Park, Idaho, approximately 15 miles west of Yellowstone National Park, and were attacked by an adult male grizzly bear.

During the surprise encounter in the Caribou-Targhee National Forest near the Divide Creek Road, one of the hunters was “knocked down and bitten by the bear,” according to a statement from Idaho Fish and Game regarding the incident.

“Both men were able to utilize their sidearms to shoot the bear, deterring the attack and killing the bear,” Idaho Fish and Game said. “The hunters were able to call 911 and the injured individual was transported by helicopter to Eastern Idaho Regional Medical Center where he is being treated for non-life-threatening injuries.”

Idaho Fish and Game say they responded to the scene where the attack happened after coordinating with Fremont County Sheriff’s Office, Caribou-Targhee National Forest and Emergency Medical Service teams and that conservation officers conducted a “thorough investigation and determined that the hunters acted in self-defense during a surprise encounter with the bear from a very close distance.”

“I am extremely grateful that both of these individuals survived this encounter,” said Fish and Game Regional Supervisor Matt Pieron. “I have had the opportunity to speak with the injured hunter and his family and they are truly wonderful people. I wish him a speedy recovery from his injuries and the trauma these two hunters experienced.”

According to U.S. Fish and Wildlife, it is illegal to kill bears unless it is in a situation that requires self-defense.

“Grizzly bears in the 48 contiguous states are currently protected as a threatened species. It is illegal to harm, harass or kill these bears, except in cases of self-defense or the defense of others,” U.S. officials said. “Grizzly bear conservation is complex and only made possible through a variety of partnerships with the Interagency Grizzly Bear Committee, state wildlife agencies, Native American Tribes, federal agencies, universities and other organizations.”

Idaho Fish and Game took the opportunity to remind people about safety procedures when hunting, suggesting that people venturing out in to the wilderness in north Idaho and the Greater Yellowstone area should always carry bear spray and keep it readily accessible, always hunt with partners and make each other aware of plans, keep an eye out for grizzly bear signs like fresh tracks, retrieve meat as quickly as possible and hang it — along with food and garbage — at least 200 yards from camp and 10 feet off the ground, and finally, by making noise when not hunting, especially around creeks and thick vegetation because “most attacks occur by inadvertently surprising a bear at close range.”

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(MEMPHIS) — Opening statements began on Wednesday in the federal trial of three former Memphis police officers charged in connection with the January 2023 beating death of Tyre Nichols.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Elizabeth Rogers presented the prosecution’s case, explaining to jurors what evidence they can expect to see and warned them that they will watch and hear “horrifying” body camera video and audio over the course of the trial, according to WATN, the ABC affiliate in Memphis covering the case in the courtroom.

“They stood by his dying body and laughed,” Rogers said, describing what happened after the officers were finished beating Nichols, according to WATN. “These will not be easy days.”

Defense attorneys for the former officers — Tadarrius Bean, Demetrius Haley and Justin Smith — also began presenting opening statements.

John Perry, Bean’s defense attorney, told jurors that they can expect to see that the evidence will show the officers did their job, according to WATN.

“It will take you 5 minutes to deliberate,” Perry said, according to WATN.

Michael Stengel, Haley’s attorney, said that Nichols did not stop for 2 miles after officers turned on their police lights, according to WATN. Stengel claimed that there is no evidence that the officer knew who was driving at the time and there was no personal vendetta concerning rumors of a woman.

“When they got the wallet [of Nichols] after the stop, that’s when they learned who it was,” Stengel said, according to WATN.

Bean, Haley and Smith, along with two other officers involved in the incident, were charged on Sept. 12, 2023, with violating Nichols’ civil rights through excessive use of force, unlawful assault, failing to intervene in the assault and failing to render medical aid – charges that carry a maximum penalty of life in prison, according to the U.S. Department of Justice. The 4-count indictment also charged all five officers with conspiring to engage in misleading conduct by attempting to falsify or intentionally withholding details of the arrest in statements and to a supervisor – charges that carry up to 20 years in prison, per the DOJ.

Bean, Haley and Smith have pleaded not guilty to all charges.

Desmond Mills Jr. and Emmitt Martin III, the two additional officers who were also charged in this case, have pleaded guilty to some of the federal charges.

Martin pleaded guilty to excessive force and failure to intervene, as well as conspiracy to witness tamper, according to court records. The other two charges will be dropped at sentencing, which has been scheduled for Dec. 5, according to the court records.

Mills pleaded guilty to two of the four counts in the indictment — excessive force and failing to intervene, as well as conspiring to cover up his use of unlawful force, according to the DOJ. The government said it will recommend a maximum penalty of 15 years in prison, based on the terms of Mills’s plea agreement.

Tyre Nichols’ mother, RowVaughn Wells, who attended opening statements, told reporters on Wednesday that she hopes the jury will return a guilty verdict.

“Our hope is that they’re found guilty and to show the world that my son was a good person and he wasn’t the criminal that they’re trying to make him out to be,” she said.

ABC News reached out to the attorneys representing the officers but requests for comment were not immediately returned.

Nichols, 29, died on Jan. 10, 2023 – three days after a traffic stop captured in body camera footage and surveillance footage, which allegedly shows officers violently striking Nichols repeatedly and walking around, talking to each other as Nichols was injured and sitting on the ground. He was also pepper-sprayed and tased during the incident. The beating triggered protests and calls for police reform.

Police said Nichols was pulled over for reckless driving, though Memphis Police Chief Cerelyn Davis said she has been unable to substantiate that.

Body camera footage shows Nichols getting away from the officers after the initial stop, but he was apprehended minutes later by the officers. He then sustained multiple punches, kicks and hits from a baton from the officers.

Nichols was transferred to the hospital in critical condition where he later died. The medical examiner’s official autopsy report for Nichols showed he “died of brain injuries from blunt force trauma,” the district attorney’s office told Nichols’ family in May 2023.

While Nichols’ mother has said that first responders told her he was drunk and high, the autopsy report shows that his blood alcohol level was .049, the DA’s office said. The district attorney’s office told the family that was “well less than the legal limit to drive.”

The five former officers charged in this case were all members of the Memphis Police Department SCORPION unit – a crime suppression unit that has since been disbanded after Nichols’ death.

Rogers told the jury on Wednesday that the SCORPION unit followed an alleged rule that they called the “run tax,” according to WATN, where it was understood that the first person to reach a running suspect would beat them.

Perry claimed that his client, Bean, was not present at the initial stop and only arrived at the second scene after hearing a call on dispatch radio, according to WATN.

The five officers charged in connection to Nichols’ death were all fired for violating the policies of the Memphis Police Department.

All five former officers also face state felony charges, including second-degree murder, aggravated assault and aggravated kidnapping, in connection with Nichols’ death. They pleaded not guilty.

ABC News’ Sabina Ghebremedhin contributed to this report.

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(WILMINGTON, Del.) — The federal judge overseeing Hunter Biden’s conviction in Delaware on gun charges agreed Thursday to push back his sentencing date three weeks, from Nov. 13 to Dec. 4, granting a request by President Joe Biden’s son to allow more time for his attorneys to gather materials for his sentencing memorandum.

In their request this week to delay the sentencing, attorneys for Hunter Biden invoked the upcoming presidential election on Nov. 5 as one reason for the request.

“Several people who plan to submit letters to both Courts as part of sentencing memoranda for Mr. Biden are short of time because they are presently involved in government work and travel with the current Administration, or are involved in the 2024 presidential campaign,” attorneys for Hunter Biden wrote.

Attorneys for Hunter Biden also suggested that they may have “in-person witnesses” prepared to testify on his behalf, including some who “may not be available until after November 5 and the events that could occur right after that date.”

Prosecutors in special counsel David Weiss’ office had opposed the motion to reschedule sentencing.

Hunter Biden was found guilty in June on three felony counts related to his purchase of a firearm in 2018 while allegedly addicted to drugs.

Earlier this month, in a separate case, he pleaded guilty to nine federal tax-related charges in Los Angeles, where he is scheduled to be sentenced on Dec. 16.

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