Hunter Dies After Deer He Shot Gets Back Up and Attacks

A hunter in Arkansas is dead after being attacked by a deer he thought he killed.

After going down to check on his "kill", Alexander soon discovered that the animal was in fact not dead.

"I've worked for the Game and Fish Commission for 20 years, and it's one of the stranger things that's happened", said Keith Stephens, the Chief of Communications with the agency.

The Arkansas Game and Fish Commission believes Alexander was out hunting by himself, but had been able to call his family.

Stephens did not specify whether the deer survived.

He says it's unclear whether Alexander died of the puncture wounds or a heart attack. "We just don't know".

ABC News reports the "bizarre incident" occurred Tuesday in Yelleville, Ark., when Thomas Alexander was hunting deer.

"It appears he shot the deer and he had put his rifle down near the deer stand and walked down to check and make sure it was dead. And that's when whatever happened, happened", Stephens said.

He said that it wasn't clear how long Alexander waited to approach the deer that attacked him, and that he may well have taken proper precautions.

"It got back up, and he had several puncture wounds on his body", he said.

A hunter holds a gun in an illustration.

"And that's when whatever happened, happened", Stephens said. "But if you let them lay there for a while and they don't move - and he may have done that".

"We're not sure that he died from the deer".

Injuries from wounded deer are not uncommon, Corp. The Game and Fish Commission also reported that the wounded deer has not yet been located.

Stephens told Newsweek in a separate interview that this is the first goring-related fatality of the hunting season.