Sheriff Karl Jackson said the animal attacked a police vehicle. Then as the deputies were trying to move one of the victims to safety, the animal headed toward them. “It was at this time officers had to put the camel down for the safety of everyone on scene,” Jackson said in a statement.

The victims were identified as Bobby Matheny, 42, of Ridgely, Tenn., and Tommy Gunn, 67, of Obion, Tenn. They were pronounced dead at the scene, authorities said, but the official cause of death was not released.

The Washington Post left a message seeking comment from Shirley Farms on Monday. A person, who did not provide a name, responded to that call to say, “We are grieving” and declined to comment further.

It is not clear how the camel got loose or why it attacked. Veterinarian and camel expert Bernard Faye said camels are quiet animals that have good relationships with people.

But Faye, chairman of the International Society of Camelid Research and Development who is based in Montpellier, France, said in an email Monday to The Post that camels can exhibit dangerous behavior under certain circumstances, such as when they are stressed and frightened or, for males, during rutting season — an annual period of sexual activity that runs from November to March in the United States.

Faye explained that most camel accidents have been caused by rutting males.

He said their aggressive behavior usually is limited to “kicking with their legs, or sometimes biting, but sometimes they run after people and can kill” by lying down on people and crushing them under the weight.

Depending on the type of camel, the animals can grow more than six feet tall and weigh more than 2,000 pounds — and, when necessary, they can run as fast as 40 mph, according to Live Science.

Faye said even a well-behaved male camel can go “mad” during rutting season. “The animal becomes crazy, really,” he said in the email to The Post. Still, he said accidents are not common when the owner can properly manage the animal.

During rutting season, male camels in the Middle East are typically kept in an enclosure called a paddock, and in Turkey their aggressive behavior is harnessed for an annual wrestling festival, Faye said.