--- description: A Maryland teenager fatally shot an eight-point buck after it broke through his home's door and knocked over his family's Christmas tree. title: Teen Shoots Deer in Home After It Busted Through the Front Door image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production --- * [Newsfeed](/tag/time-section-newsfeed/) ## Newsfeed Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Teen Shoots Deer in Home After It Broke in and Knocked Over the Christmas Tree  by [Megan McCluskey](/author/megan-mccluskey/)  ## Megan McCluskey Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Staff Writer Dec 19, 2016 4:13 PM CUT  by [Megan McCluskey](/author/megan-mccluskey/)  ## Megan McCluskey Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Staff Writer Dec 19, 2016 4:13 PM CUT A Maryland teenager fatally shot an eight-point buck after it [broke through](http://time.com/3963560/bear-bakery-pies/ "undefined") his home’s front door and knocked over the [Christmas tree](http://time.com/money/4590377/christmas-trees-prices-new-york-city/ "undefined") while trying to escape through a window. Ryan Manchester, 17, told the [Frederick News-Post](http://www.fredericknewspost.com/news/in-living-room-showdown-walkersville-high-teen-shoots-eight-point/article%5F9550b019-68a1-5b69-b15f-6ded56bc694a.html "undefined") that he only decided to shoot [the deer](http://time.com/4320227/deer-light-globe-stuck-head/ "undefined") 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. > [](https://twitter.com/98rmanchester/status/805878388028272640) “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](http://www.fredericknewspost.com/news/in-living-room-showdown-walkersville-high-teen-shoots-eight-point/article%5F9550b019-68a1-5b69-b15f-6ded56bc694a.html "undefined"). ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4606324/teen-shoots-deer-in-home/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4606324/teen-shoots-deer-in-home/"},"headline":"Teen Shoots Deer in Home After It Broke in and Knocked Over the Christmas Tree","datePublished":"2016-12-19T16:13:50.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T07:39:35.529Z","description":"The animal had burst through the front door","url":"https://time.com/4606324/teen-shoots-deer-in-home/","keywords":["Newsfeed","animals","Deer","Weird News"],"thumbnailUrl":"","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Megan McCluskey","jobTitle":"Staff Writer","url":"https://time.com/author/megan-mccluskey/"}],"articleSection":"","image":[],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/tag/time-section-newsfeed/","name":"Newsfeed"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4606324/teen-shoots-deer-in-home/","name":"Teen Shoots Deer in Home After It Broke in and Knocked Over the Christmas Tree"}}]}] ```