Gothamist

A non-profit newsroom, powered by WNYC.

Gothamist

WNYC Listen Live

Donate

 

 

Arts & Entertainment

Deer Crashes Into Long Island Hair Salon, Hoofs Woman In Head


By

Claire Lampen

Published Oct 7, 2019


Share

FacebookTwitterRedditEmail


Never miss a story

 Email address

By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .

This is a photo of a white tail buck in bushes.

 

Wikimedia Commons


By

Claire Lampen

Published Oct 7, 2019


Share

FacebookTwitterRedditEmail


We rely on your support to make local news available to all

Make your contribution now and help Gothamist thrive in 2026. Donate today

Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations

An agitated deer came flying in through the front window of a Long Island hair salon on Saturday, staying just long enough to make a large and disorderly scene before careening out through the front door.

"At first I thought it was a car — because of all the crashing," Jeni Heredia, owner of Be.YOU.tiful Salon in Lake Ronkonkoma, told Newsday. "It was scary."

Around 12:30 p.m., a large buck with imposing antlers barreled through the glass. It smacked the woman seated in the waiting area with its scrabbling hooves, sliding across the floor before gaining some purchase. "It threw its head up against the wall three or four times, and ran into the break room," Heredia continued. "It was bleeding. There was blood."

After a brief rampage in the back of the shop, the deer corrected course. Trailing a hair straightener, it beat a path of destruction for the entrance, head-butting the glass door and busting a hinge in its haste to leave. The woman who got hoofed was taken to Stony Brook University Hospital with complaints of head and leg pain.

Here's the big entrance, as captured on security camera footage. Due to the angle of the sun hitting the glass, it looks as though the deer materializes from nowhere — a very spooky trick:

There are currently more deer in North American than ever: with fewer people hunting and developments sprawling across their habitats, deer are increasingly showing up in unexpected-to-us-but-maybe-natural-to-them settings. According to the NY Times, it's also mating season, meaning deer might be especially active right now. The city has vasectomized some of our local specimen in an attempt to rein in overpopulation, but still, frisky deer season demands constant vigilance! Deer answer only to one master, and it is chaos — you never know when one might come hurtling into frame, club you in the head, and cut out.

Tagged

deer

long island

hair salon


Claire Lampen

Read more

Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations


Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations


MORE arts-entertainment

Inside the hidden chamber that controls Lincoln Center's magnificent fountain

Gothamist went behind the scenes to learn how the NYC landmark keeps its majestic waters flowing.

By

Sonia Rao

Published Oct 23, 2026


In the algorithm age, NYC college radio DJs are still broadcasting the funky stuff

We dropped by WNYU to see what the next generation of radio DJs is up to. The answer is "Br00tal Beats To Study/Relax To."

By

James Ramsay

Arts & Entertainment

In the algorithm age, NYC college radio DJs are still broadcasting the funky stuff

We dropped by WNYU to see what the next generation of radio DJs is up to. The answer is "Br00tal Beats To Study/Relax To."

By

James Ramsay


A Queens prop shop shutters, bunnies find a home uptown, and more openings and closings

By

Hannah Frishberg

A new film invites you to eavesdrop on one of the greatest conversations in NYC history

By

Sonia Rao

The Knicks are NBA champions. Now they have to start dressing the part.

By

Sonia Rao


Never miss a story

Catch up on the most important headlines with a roundup of essential NYC stories, delivered to your inbox daily.

Sign upEmail address

By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .