Hunter thought he killed a deer until it stood up and attacked, Arkansas officials say

A hunter in Arkansas is dead after officials say the deer he thought he killed stood up and attacked him on Tuesday.

Thomas Alexander, 66, was hunting near Yellville when he shot a buck, KY3 reported. Yellville is about 100 miles east of Fayetteville.

When Alexander walked up to the deer to ensure it was dead, the animal stood up and attacked, Arkansas Game and Fish Commission spokesman Keith Stephens told the outlet.

“He apparently went over to the buck and it got up and attacked him,” Stephens told Fox News.

Alexander managed to call his wife and was rushed to an area hospital after an airlift attempt was halted because Alexander had stopped breathing, Fox News reported.

Alexander died at the hospital, KY3 reported. He had a number of puncture wounds on his body, but Stephens says he doesn’t know if the wounds proved fatal or something else, like a heart attack, is to blame, according to the outlet.

Loved ones may never get answers.

“It’s my understanding there’s not going to be an autopsy, so we may never know what actually happened,” Stephens told KY3.

Alexander was hunting with a muzzleloader, Fox News reported.

A muzzleloader is a single-shot, front-loading firearm that requires hunters to get closer to their targets than a traditional hunting rifle, according to Realtree. Muzzleloaders are popular with hunters who enjoy the challenge of having only a single shot to hit their targets.

Stephens told Newsweek that Tuesday’s accident has been the only fatal one this season.

“So far this season, we have had one accident in Arkansas that occurred while dove hunting, and three falls from deer stands. This goring is the first fatality this season,” he told the outlet.

Last season, however, Stephens said three fatal accidents were reported, all while deer hunting, according to Newsweek.

“One was from a fall from a deer stand, one was a victim that was mistaken for a deer, and the other was self-inflicted during muzzleloader season,” Stephens told the outlet.

This story was originally published October 24, 2019 at 2:00 PM with the headline "Hunter thought he killed a deer until it stood up and attacked, Arkansas officials say."