OREGON CITY, Ore. -- A 66-year-old man was trampled to death by a bull Sunday on a farm east of Oregon City, deputies said.

The 1,200 pound bull was killed by a deputy with a sniper rifle after it trampled 66-year-old Aurgliano Martinez-Sierra, said Detective Jim Strovink in a sheriff's office press release.

Martinez-Sierra was visiting his 36-year-old son at the farm on Springwater Road when he set out to feed and provide water to animals.

His family became concerned after about 45 minutes and they went to a field where the animals are kept. They found Martinez-Sierra gored to death in the field, Strovink said.

Sheriff's deputies and firefighters arrived to find Martinez-Sierra dead. While they were investigating the death, the bull became increasingly more agitated, according to deputies.

Michael McDonald, who lives nearby, tried to distract the animal from threatening rescue workers, but the bull charged and attacked him. McDonald, 61, was on the ground at one point, Strovink said, but he was able to escape.

Deputies said they called in an officer equipped with a sniper rifle to kill the bull. With the permission of the owner, the animal was shot and killed, Strovink said. The family then summoned a butchering company to salvage hundreds of pounds of beef from the bull.

About 30 members from Martinez-Sierra's family had gathered at his son's home Sunday for a dinner. Deputies said they were able to safely remove Martinez-Sierra's body from the farm after the bull died.

Shalon Hutchens lives across the road from the farm where Martinez-Sierra was killed and was shocked by his death.

"I've gone up many times with my son to the fence to look at the cows and the bull never seemed aggressive. So it was scary to think that at any time the bull could've come through the fence at him," Hutchens said.

Hutchens said it's unusual for a bull to attack but the incident was a wake-up call.

"We run cattle ourselves and our bull is twice as big as that bull. So that's kind of startling to think that at any time an animal can, you know, do that," she said.

Man Trampled To Death By 1,200-Pound Bull