Deer Breaks Through Home's Windows; Is Shot by Authorities

A male deer was shot in Murrieta Wednesday after it broke through several windows in a vacant home in a populated area near a middle school, injuring itself, authorities said.

The fully grown buck with antlers was spotted on Lincoln Avenue near shortly before noon. That is when a resident called 911 to report the sighting.

As officers followed the deer and waited for animal control to arrive, the middle school was briefly placed on lockdown, school district officials and Murrieta police confirmed.

According to Murrieta police Lt. Tony Conrad, the deer went into a backyard on Via Reata, about a block away from the middle school.

"The officers closed the gate and waited for animal control to get there," Conrad said.

The buck then became frightened and broke through a sliding glass door at the rear of the home, according to Conrad. Once inside, the deer continued to injure itself on other objects in the home. It broke through two more windows until it successfully returned to the backyard, he said.

"The deer was then running frantically around the backyard," the lieutenant said.

A warden with the California Department of Fish and Game arrived, who weighed his options and decided euthanizing it would be the best bet, according to Andrew Hughan, Southern California spokesperson for California Department of Fish and Game.

"It was a fairly good-sized deer," Hughan said. "They thought of using a dart to put it down, but with its proximity to a school and the freeway, and the condition of the deer, the warden felt it was the safest thing to do for the deer and the community."

Hughan said tranquilizer darts--unlike in the movies--take a while to set in.

"As a department, we never want to destroy an animal; it is unfortunate," Hughan said.

It was unclear how the deer managed to find its way into the city limits, but Hughan and Conrad agreed that deers do come in from the hills around the city.

is just west of the city. To the east of where the deer was found are pockets of conservation areas, near Los Alamos Hills.

"It is not unheard of," Conrad said.