BARRE - A deer smashed through the front door of the Cumberland Farms on South Main Street Tuesday, causing some damage.
A buck, believed to weigh around 100 pounds with small antlers, broke through the double-paned glass of the front store around noon.
There were two female employees and three customers in the store at the time. One of those customers was City Constable Scott Gagnon.
“I thought a car hit the store,” he said shortly after the incident.
After Gagnon realized it was a deer, he took the two employees to the store's office and out the back entrance, he said. He did not have his firearm at the time.
The deer wandered around the inside of the store for about 20 minutes and then left the same way it came in.
City police, including Police Chief Tim Bombadier, and a game warden responded to the scene.
Employees at the store would not comment, and the store was closed off to the public.
From outside, some damage was visible. There were DVDs, broken glass and cookies strewn throughout the convenience store.
The deer had injured itself because there was blood around the store.
Paul Deluca, who works for Frito-Lay across the street from the store, said he heard the fire alarm go off after the door was broken and then saw the deer running south down Route 14.
The store was recently remodeled last October.
Look for additional coverage of this story online at www.timesargus.com.