Deer Attacks Hunter After Being Shot, Kills Him

A hunter from Arkansas was bamboozled by a deer he shot after it got up and attacked him back. The man died on his way to the hospital.

Thomas Alexander, 66, was hunting in Yellville on Tuesday evening, an area roughly 102 miles east of Fayetteville. It was then that Alexander shot the buck with a muzzleloader, Keith Stephens, a spokesperson for the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission, told Fox News.

“He went up to check it to make sure it was dead. And evidently it wasn’t," Stephens said. “It got up and attacked him."

There were several punctures on Alexander’s body resulting from the attack.

Alexander was alone while the incident happened, but he called his wife to let her know what happened, who in turn called the emergency responders to the scene. He was going to be air-lifted to the hospital around 8 p.m. however, he stopped breathing on his way to the helicopter. The Baxter Regional Medical Center in Mountain Home pronounced him dead on his arrival.

The hospital said Alexander could have died of other illnesses like heart-attack, though he had puncture wounds from the attack. However, an autopsy won’t possibly be conducted according to Stephens.

“It’s my understanding there’s not going to be an autopsy, so we may never know what actually happened," he said.

The Arkansas Game and Fish Commission termed it as an odd hunting-related death that they investigated.

“I’ve worked for the Game and Fish Commission for 20 years, and it’s one of the stranger things that’s happened," Stephens said.

According to him, a similar incident had happened four years ago, when a person was struck by buck antlers. However, unlike Alexander, the person survived the attack.

Stephens also added that hunters should ensure their safety by making sure the deer is dead after being shot. He suggested that they wait for 30 minutes before approaching the shot animal as there are chances that it could not be dead.