As Wonders Hall desk receptionist Matt Sutika handed change to a patron Thursday morning, he heard what sounded like a gunshot.

But when the marketing and premedical junior looked in the direction of the clamor, he found a six-point buck staring him square in the face.

"It didn't make any noise at all; it just ran down the hall," Sutika said. "It was over in 30 seconds."

The crash Sutika heard was the deer smashing through a large window located near the North Wonders Hall lobby.

At about 9 a.m. on Thursday the deer ran through the adjacent hallway before exiting the main floor via a loading dock door, said MSU police Sgt. Paul Kuchek.

Officers were able to follow the deer's track because of the trail of blood droplets the animal left. Kuchek said the deer was last seen running westbound across Harrison Avenue.

Sutika said the loading dock entrance the deer exited is usually kept open to allow deliveries to pass through easily. He added that the window has been repaired and the blood cleaned up.

The estimated damage was $150, and representatives from the Physical Plant replaced the large window panel, Kuchek said.

The window was one of three in a corner area of the dorm. Sutika said the deer was probably running scared and was pinned in the area.

David Dominic, the Department of Natural Resources district wildlife supervisor for south central Michigan, said the deer might have been attracted to the area because of the crops and horticulture projects associated with the university.

He said MSU has maintained a large population of deer in the past because of campus ordinances against hunting, but incidents similar to the one in North Wonders Hall rarely occur.

"I'm sure something scared it and it took a wrong turn — could be anything from dogs to a vehicle," Dominic said. "Ideally, you don't want wildlife to live within the city, but people have pushed out in the countryside. They have learned to adapt when they need to."

Sutika said the deer experience will go in his personal history book as the weirdest thing to happen while on-duty.

"I was half asleep, and all of a sudden, I heard a crash and look over — there was glass falling down," he said. "It's definitely one of the weirdest things — you don't see deer come through a building."