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WILLMAR — No one was injured when a deer provided a real-life story for the telling at the Willmar Public Library on Monday afternoon.
What is believed to have been a young female deer broke through a window in the southwest corner of the library building around 12:50 p.m. It skirted around and tried to get out through another window before finally exiting through the window from which it entered.
“It came out of nowhere,” said Head Librarian Andrew Bregar.
There were four or five children and a couple of their parents in the area when the deer burst into the library, he said. Library staff directed them to the back of the library, where they were protected by a closed door. There were a couple of other adult patrons on the north side of the library when the deer entered.
The incident frightened some of the patrons, but the deer did not come into contact with anyone. It left a trail of blood on walls and carpeting and some books in the teen area. It damaged window blinds, as well as the window it shattered. The blood-stained books will be permanently removed from the library for safety.
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Kandiyohi County Public Works staff arrived to clean up the mess left behind by the deer. The library provided curbside service through the afternoon but closed the building to patrons due to the blood.
The cleanup was proceeding well, and the library should be open as normal on Tuesday, said Bregar when reached about the incident on Monday.
Like others, Bregar said he was especially surprised as to why a deer would be found in downtown Willmar mid-day. He does not know where the deer went after fleeing the library.
