A Maryland teenager fatally shot an eight-point buck after it broke through his home’s front door and knocked over the Christmas tree while trying to escape through a window. Ryan Manchester, 17, told the Frederick News-Post that he only decided to shoot the deer after he had called 911.
“I told them what was happening and they didn’t really seem to have any urgency,” he said of the Dec. 5 incident. “I don’t think they knew how much damage it was doing. So I asked them if I should shoot it. They didn’t tell me to shoot it. But they didn’t tell me not to shoot it. So I was like, ‘I’m probably gonna shoot it.'”
Manchester explained that he originally thought the deer was a human intruder but began recording video once he saw the animal in his family’s living room. He then retrieved his father’s gun and shot the deer twice, killing it.
“I’m glad I shot it,” he said. “It caused a lot of damage. I know people will judge me for it, but I don’t care. If it happens to them, they don’t have to shoot it. But after it did all that, it wasn’t leaving alive.”
Read more at FrederickNewsPost.com.
More Must-Reads from TIME
- Welcome to the Noah Lyles Olympics
- Melinda French Gates Is Going It Alone
- What to Do if You Can’t Afford Your Medications
- How to Buy Groceries Without Breaking the Bank
- Sienna Miller Is the Reason to Watch Horizon
- Why So Many Bitcoin Mining Companies Are Pivoting to AI
- The 15 Best Movies to Watch on a Plane
- Want Weekly Recs on What to Watch, Read, and More? Sign Up for Worth Your Time
Write to Megan McCluskey at megan.mccluskey@time.com