GETTYSBURG — A man accused of killing a game warden during a poaching investigation two weeks ago told police the warden fired the first shot in what state police have described as a ferocious gun battle, according to testimony at his preliminary hearing today.

“I know he shot the first one, I remember that,” Christopher Lynn Johnson told a state trooper, according to an interview transcript, as he was being taken to a hospital for treatment on Nov. 12, the morning after he allegedly killed Wildlife Conservation Officer David L. Grove outside Gettysburg.

Investigators testified today they recovered from the scene 10 bullet casings that fit the .357-caliber Glock revolver issued to Grove, as well as 15 casings for a .45-caliber handgun, the type of weapon Johnson allegedly used to shoot Grove four times.

State police Commissioner Col. Frank Pawlowski previously said the two had “a ferocious exchange of gunfire” after Grove caught Johnson illegally shooting deer at night.

Gettysburg District Judge Mark Beauchat ruled there was sufficient evidence against Johnson, 27, to forward the case to common pleas court for trial.