A deer crashed through a first-floor apartment window in Appleton, Wisconsin, last Tuesday evening, wandered through the empty unit, and then blasted its way back out through a completely different window just seconds later. The entire escape was captured on a responding officer's body camera.
The incident happened around 5:09 p.m. on Oct. 20, according to Boston 25 News, which reported that two Appleton police officers responded after reports that a deer had gotten into an apartment through a first-floor window. The tenant was not home at the time the animal got in, according to Appleton Today, which reports the deer got in through an open window on Oct. 20 before bursting through a different window and bolting away moments later.
The deer appeared to be uninjured, according to a Facebook post from the Appleton Police Department, per Appleton Today's report. Officers contacted the apartment's landlord and resident afterward, and the two reportedly addressed the broken window and said they found no other issues inside the unit, the same outlet reports.
Why a Deer Ended Up Indoors
Appleton police chalked the odd break-in up to the season. The department wrote that deer are on the move this time of year, according to UPI, and officers advised drivers to stay alert and drive safely since deer may appear unexpectedly in front of vehicles. Fall is mating season for deer, meaning the animals are on the move, the report from the same Appleton Today account notes, and the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources identifies October and November as the peak months of the fall breeding season.
Deer are also most active around dawn and dusk, per the Wisconsin DNR, as cited by UPI's report. That overlap between rutting season and low-light hours is exactly why Wisconsin transportation officials have been warning drivers, with WEAU reporting that deer are currently on the move during their annual fall rut, creating a greater risk for crashes.
The Numbers Behind the Warning
The seasonal timing isn't just local color — it lines up with statewide crash data. Wisconsin recorded more than 17,000 crashes involving deer in 2024, killing nine people and injuring 707, according to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, which also reported that 221 of those crashes involved motorcycles, resulting in seven deaths and 87 serious injuries. A separate account from WEAU puts the 2025 total at 17,793 crashes involving deer statewide, with six fatalities and 720 injuries — a different year-over-year figure than the Journal Sentinel's 2024 count, but one that underscores the same trend.
Locally, the Fox Valley is no stranger to the problem. Outagamie and Winnebago counties saw the ninth and tenth most deer crashes in the state in 2025, with 590 and 566 respectively, according to Appleton Today's report. Statewide, 42% of crashes involving deer in 2025 happened between October and December, with November alone logging 3,389 crashes, the same outlet notes.
For the Appleton tenant and landlord, the episode ended with nothing more than a shattered pane of glass to fix. But with rutting season in full swing and deer cutting through yards, roads, and apparently living rooms at dawn and dusk, officials say the odd home invasion is a timely reminder to watch the roadways just as closely as the windows.
