A deer carcass was found in the middle of a Rutherford County road, but neighbors don't think it was an accident. Surveillance video that caught the act on camera, has led them to believe it was deliberate.
"Well, the truck stopped right here," said neighbor Karen Wooten as she pointed to the road.
The video shows three men get out of a truck, look at something in the bed of the truck then get back inside.
"That's when they gunned it and the deer fell out ... about 20 feet from the end of sidewalk," said Wooten.
Neighbors found the dead animal the next morning and quickly moved it concerned small children might see it.
They noticed the deer didn't appear to be hit by a car and they didn't see a bullet wound; so they checked a nearby home security camera and saw what happened.
"The sheer act of what they did is just disturbing," said Wooten.
"It's like what the ... what else can you say," said another appalled neighbor, Susan Golden.
Both Murfreesboro police and the Tennessee Wildlife Resource Agency were notified.
"I haven't seen anything like that," said Doug Markham with the TWRA.
It is not deer season. Markham said you can't tell if the animal was illegally poached or killed somehow accidentally, but the video is upsetting.
"They are all living critters that should be treated with respect. Our hunters are respectful. The folks who poach or do whatever these guys did shows no respect for the wildlife that is out there," said Markham.
It's not clear whether or not the deer was illegally killed.
Depending on the circumstances at the very least what happened could be illegal dumping.
Whatever the case, police would like to talk to the men in the video for an explanation.
