GASTONIA, N.C. – There were frantic moments inside a local nursing home, after a deer suddenly broke through a window.
The panicking animal crashed into a room with a resident inside. It happened at Belaire Health Care Center in Gastonia. The administrator says his staff acted quickly to rescue the resident.
Administrator Aaron Loney said he was inside his office when he saw the deer coming toward the building and the next thing he knew it had crashed through the window.
“You don't see that every day,” Loney told NBC Charlotte.
It happened Friday afternoon at the Belaire Health Care Center.
“Turn around in my chair to get something out of my file and I see this huge eight-point buck deer coming toward our grounds,” said Loney.
Loney says he lost sight of the deer, but quickly heard all the commotion. He said the frantic deer had crashed into a room with a resident inside, but his staff acted quickly.
“They were able to distract the deer, move the resident out of the room, keep the deer contained, and themselves get out safely,” said Loney.
NBC Charlotte obtained an audio recording of the 911 call which described the deer in a panic.
“You could still hear the deer, we barricaded the door, you could hear the deer thrashing in the room it was pretty intense,” Loney told NBC Charlotte.
Loney said the deer was severely injured, and when police responded, they had to put the animal down. However, he said his staff helped avoid a much worse outcome for the people inside.
“It was quite remarkable how they were able to respond,” he told NBC Charlotte.
Loney said he is planning to use the staff’s quick response to train other employees in the future, in case something similar ever happens again.
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