A man was killed and a sheriff’s deputy was injured by a buffalo.

According to the the Ellsworth County Sheriff’s Office, on Sunday evening at 6:38, Ellsworth County 911 received a call about a buffalo on K-4 highway at 5th Road in Ellsworth County. An Ellsworth County Deputy was dispatched to the area where he found the animal and attempted to get it to return to a pasture when the buffalo suddenly charged him, seriously injuring the deputy. The deputy was transported by Claflin EMS to the Ellsworth County Medical Center and later, to Salina Regional Health Center.

Monday morning at approximately 9:03, Ellsworth County 911 received a call from a woman who said she needed an ambulance because she had found her nephew dead in a pen and she thought a buffalo had killed him. Ellsworth County Deputies and Claflin EMS were dispatched to the scene. The location of the body was in a row of trees north of K-4 highway at 5th Road in Ellsworth County. The location of the deputy that was injured last night was approximately ¼ of a mile south of where the deceased body was found this morning.

The coroner’s preliminary cause of death, pending an autopsy, is that the male subject had been gored by an animal. The deceased has been identified as 56-year-old Scott Schroeder of rural Bushton, who was also the owner of the 20 plus buffalo being kept at that location.

The injured deputy underwent surgery at Salina Regional Health Center and is in stable condition. A Rice County Deputy arrived at the scene of the attack Sunday night just as it occurred and the buffalo was put down when it appeared it was preparing to charge at the deputy who was down.

Both incidents are still under investigation.