SYKESVILLE, Md. -- A video posted to social media shows a Maryland deputy shoot a groundhog as it was trying to cross a road. CBS Baltimore reports the Carroll County Sheriff's Office deputy was on Old Liberty Rd., near White Rock Rd., when he saw traffic backed up.

A groundhog was walking into the roadway, "causing vehicles to stop and creating a hazard," the sheriff's office said.

The deputy got out of his vehicle to get the groundhog away from the roadway, but the deputy reported that the groundhog was not acting normally.

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"Believing the groundhog to be either sick or injured," the deputy shot the groundhog, and "put the animal down for the public's safety," the sheriff's office said.

A video posted to social media shows a Maryland deputy shoot a groundhog as it was trying to cross a road. CBS Baltimore

The woman who posted the video to Facebook says she was shocked and "did not think that it would take this turn." But she also said she was "sure the officer did the best thing in this situation."

The sheriff's office released the following statement: