MOUNT AIRY, Md. (AP) — The Carroll County Sheriff’s Office says a deputy and an animal control officer shot and killed a bull that had escaped while it was being taken to a meat processing plant.

It happened early Thursday on North Main Street in Mount Airy. A deputy saw the bull charge a person and head in the area of a day care facility.

Authorities say the deputy followed the bull to a field, but the animal charged him and he got into his cruiser. The bull hit the rear of the vehicle.

Deputies tried to confine the bull, but it became aggressive. A deputy fired a shotgun, striking the animal. It retreated to a wooded area, and an officer from Frederick County Animal Control shot the bull with a rifle, killing it.

(Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)