MARION, Ohio -- James Warren has played the scenario over and over in his mind, trying to come up with an explanation as to why he was attacked by a deer while pumping gasoline.

"I'm not sure why it wanted me anyway," Warren said. "It was pretty scary."

It was 10 p.m. when Warren, 26 (pictured, left), pulled into a BP station, he told a Columbus television station.

He was planning a trip to Cedar Point the next morning, so he wanted to check the oil in his car. Then he said that he heard something running. He looked up and saw the deer charging at him from 15 feet away.

"His antler struck my elbow right there on my funny bone," Warren said. "But he would have killed me if I wouldn't have ducked. His antler would have gone right through my head."

The deer was a pretty good-sized male with only one antler, Warren said. The animal's actions remain a mystery to Warren and to officials at the Ohio Division of Wildlife.

"Aggressiveness in deer is unheard of," wildlife biologist Donna Daniel said.

She said that there could be three explanations for the buck's behavior.

It could have felt threatened or trapped at the busy intersection. The deer could have been hand-fed, making him used to human contact. Daniel said that the deer's one antler could be another explanation.

"Maybe it had some type of head injury or brain damage," Daniel said. "Maybe it was hit by a car, a brain abcess, something that would cause his behavior to be different from normal."

Warren's piece of advice to Marion residents is to watch out for deer.

"They're all over the place," he said.

The Division of Wildlife says that more deer are moving into urban areas looking for food. Officials estimate there are 450,000 deer living in Central Ohio, an average of 15 deer per square mile.