A deer living on the presidential palace grounds in the Paraguayan capital Asuncion has fatally gored a sergeant from the country’s military who was on guard duty.

The incident took place at Mburuvicha Roga, which is the presidential palace in the capital of Paraguay, Asuncion, at around 12.15am on Tuesday, 4th January.

The victim has been named as Victor Cesar Isasi Flecha, 42, and according to local media, he was a member of the Presidential Escort Regiment of the Paraguayan Armed Forces. He held the rank of sergeant.

Víctor Urdapilleta, the Head of Communications for the Paraguayan military, said that a soldier, who was a widower with a 10-year-old daughter, had been performing guard duty in an area of the palace grounds where deer are known to live.

The soldier received medical attention at the scene and was stabilised over several hours. However, he had suffered serious perforations to his thorax after the animal gored him with its horns, and he died later that day, at 7.10pm, according to local media.

It is currently unclear why the deer attacked him and if it there are any plans to put it down.

Urdapilleta said that the soldier had entered the area where the animal was with a group of other deer and that he reportedly raised his hand before the attack.

Urdapilleta added: “He had no need to go there, he could control things from there, for reasons unknown to us he approached the place, what I noticed is that he raised his hand.”

He said that this was the first time that an incident like this had taken place.

The Director of Wildlife for the Paraguayan Ministry of the Environment, Frederick Bauer, said that the animal was a chital (Axis axis), also known as an Axis deer, from India.

Some specimens were donated to the residence of Paraguayan President Abdo Benitez, while others are being raised on a farm in the interior of the country.