ELDERSBURG, Md. — Video shows a deputy fatally shooting a groundhog on a Maryland roadway.

Carroll County Sheriff’s Office spokesman Cpl. Jon Light says the deputy spotted the animal in the roadway creating a traffic hazard Sunday and exited his patrol car.

News outlets report video shows the deputy appearing to back away at times from the groundhog and approach it. The animal walks and then stops. The deputy backs up as the groundhog comes toward him, kneels and shoots it.

Light says the deputy believed the groundhog was “acting oddly.” He says it was not known whether the groundhog was rabid and that the deputy tried to guide it to the side of the road.

A sheriff’s office statement says the deputy put the animal down for the public’s safety.