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An injured buck that jumped a fence surrounding a sports field at Seneca Valley High School before Thanksgiving was tended to by a school employee until a police officer killed the deer.

Dianne Carpenter, the school's business manager, fed the deer apples, molasses covered corn and water. She said she called Animal Services to have the deer removed from the school, but was told they only remove dead deer. Carpenter said she spoke with police while the injured deer was alive who told her it would be best to kill the deer.

Ken D'Loughy, regional manager for the Department of Natural Resources, said often, deer will hop fences to find food and new places to live. He also said he "wouldn't recommend feeding a wild animal."

The buck, which had an injured leg, also broke off an antler on a fence, said Principal Dennis Queen.

"The deer did not pose a threat to anyone," Queen said. "There were no issues raised other than getting the deer to a safe place. The deer was on the lower field."

Queen said a side gate was left opened in hopes the deer would leave.

But Dec. 2, Montgomery County Police Officer Steven Smugeresky, an educational facility officer at the school, killed the buck.

"The deer needed to be put down from what Officer Smugeresky said in his report, because its health was deteriorated," said county police Sgt. Kent Smith, supervisor for school educational facility officers in the 5th District in Germantown and the 6th District in Gaithersburg. "School was in at the time the deer was shot, but the officer made sure school administrators and security knew what was going on. No one was in danger when the officer shot the deer because it was away from the school in a back field."

The buck could barely move the day he was killed, Carpenter said.

"Usually, he would try to get away if he saw someone coming," said an emotional Carpenter. "He just laid there and I knew that he had gotten worse."

"At least now he won't have to suffer," she said. "He was our Christmas deer."