Oh deer: Animal breaks, enters Gainesville hardware store

By Ty Tagami

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

It wasn't a bull and it wasn't a china shop, but the beast that smashed into a Gainesville storefront Saturday morning still did some damage.

Chris DeLong, the owner of North Hall Ace Hardware in Gainesville, described for the Gainesville Times what it was like when a deer crashed through his front door, sending glass shards flying and startling customers.

"It was pretty exciting around here for awhile," DeLong told the Gainesville newspaper. "Everything was normal. Customers were at the checkout area when the deer exploded through the entrance. The door didn't even slow him down."

The animal ransacked the store office, toppling the video surveillance system, but knocked over no merchandise, according to an article on the Times website.

It escaped when an employee opened a back door for it.