ROCK HILL — A deer smashed through the door of a Rock Hill restaurant early Saturday morning, according to Rock Hill police.

Officers responded to the Dragon Express restaurant – located on Cherry Road directly across the street from Winthrop University – after 2 a.m. to find the deer running around the dining room, said Lt. Marc Kitts of the Rock Hill Police Department.

Officers attempted to catch the deer but it escaped, Kitts said.

“The deer, the perpetrator in this case, is on the loose,” Kitts said.

The south door of the restaurant was smashed and glass shards were both inside and outside the door. The restaurant manager called Saturday to have the damaged glass replaced but declined comment on the incident.

The restaurant was closed at the time the deer crashed through the glass yet was open Saturday at lunchtime after workers cleaned up the debris.

Andrew Dys 803-329-4065