GRAPHIC: Officials euthanize deer after it crashes through window of family’s home

FLORENCE, Ala. (WAFF/Gray News) - A deer that crashed into an Alabama family’s home left the inside looking like the scene of a horror film.

“It sounded like a herd of elephants breaking glass upstairs,” one of the homeowners said, describing the scene.

The Florence homeowner, who asked not to be identified, said the deer crashed through a bedroom window on the ground floor of her home on Wednesday.

She told WAFF she and her husband were downstairs when they heard the sound of the glass breaking. Her husband opened the door to the home’s staircase and saw the deer run by at the top of the stairs.

WARNING: The images in the slideshow are graphic and may be disturbing to some viewers.

Officers with the Florence Police Department attempted to enter the home upon arrival at the scene, but the homeowner said police were charged by the animal and were forced back outside. Authorities said they made the decision to euthanize the deer after animal control arrived at the home. A Florence officer shot and killed the animal.

An area resident who needed deer meat retrieved the animal from officers at the scene.

The homeowner said she wasn’t sure what caused the deer to enter her home. She said she has lived in the neighborhood for 40 years and has never seen a deer inside the house. She said a lot of work currently being done in the area may have disturbed the animal.

The deer was reportedly inside the home for about 20 minutes.