Deer me … an assault but of a beastly nature

It was an assault of sorts, just not the human kind.

It was listed in Thursday’s Texarkana Gazette on Page 2A, under the heading of On the Beat. For the unfamiliar, On the Beat is a regular report on law enforcement dispatches, void of details. This one simply noted that Miller County Sheriff’s Department responded to a 7:20 a.m. assault at a certain address. True, as far as it went. Come to find out, there was a little more to the story. Here are the details provided by the sheriff’s office about the incident that happened Tuesday:

“Deputies were dispatched to 3862 MC 43 in reference to a deer attacking a 5-year-old boy. The boy was walking to

his grandfather’s house near his home when the deer came out of a yard and chased him down. The deer pawed the young boy on the back and head. The deer is a pet that belongs to a neighbor. The boy was treated and released at a local hospital.”

As you might imagine, following mention of the incident in On the Beat, the family was getting some unwanted attention by folks who thought it was the kind of assault that normally shows up in this column.

This is to let you know that no humans committed this alleged crime. (And we’ve got to give the deer the benefit of the doubt, you know, until otherwise proven.)

If any new evidence comes to light, we’ll keep you updated. Until then, for reporting purposes, the case is closed.