Update: The Harrison County Sheriff's Department has released more information about Rushton's death:
Harrison County Sheriff's Office received a 911 call for assistance to FM 9 South in Waskom regarding an attack on a person by a red stag deer. The caller stated that Gerald Rushton, 67, had been trampled and gored in a pen where he was keeping the wild animal. The deceased person had kept several wild animals in pens behind his residence in an attempt to domesticate them as pets. Along with this deer were other types of deer including Axis deer. The European red stag deer had a large rack of horns and apparently pinned Mr. Rushton against the fenced and then gored him as well as trampled him when he fell to the ground. The deer had to be shot prior to deputies and TPWD game wardens entering the pen to remove Mr. Rushton because of the aggressive nature of the animal.
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HARRISON COUNTY (KYTX) -- Benjamin Gerald Rushton, 67, was killed by a deer he was keeping in a kennel in his back yard at his home south of Waskom this morning.
Harrison County Sheriff's Officers found Rushton trampled and pierced by the deer's antlers in his backyard around 10:30 Friday morning. He was deceased.
The deer was a red stag deer. It is illegal -- and extremely dangerous -- to possess them.
Game wardens shot and killed the deer. Deer can become very aggressive during mating season. Game wardens say they don't know why Rushton had the deer in a kennel in his backyard.
The incident is still under investigation. Smith County game warden Chris Green says this is the first fatal attack of its kind in this area.
