They may not have been Santa's reindeer, but a doe and a buck made a fleeting appearance at a Cockeysville shopping center yesterday afternoon.
The reinless deer crashed through the storefront window of Cranbrook Video in the 500 block of Cranbrook Road at 5:20 p.m. yesterday, shattering the glass, toppling a Christmas tree, knocking videotapes to the ground and scratching the carpet, police said.
The buck and doe entered together, and while the doe left quickly through the front door, the buck ran to the back of the store and holed up in the adult video section, said Lt. John Majka of the Baltimore County police.
Department of Natural Resources officials were unable to capture the buck, despite firing a tranquilizer dart at the creature.
"We were concerned he would go through the plate-glass window again," the lieutenant said.
The deer finally ran to safety on its own, passing authorities as it fled out the front door and into nearby woods, he said.