By Anne Berleant
UPPER MACUNGIE TOWNSHIP, Pa. — Police officers shot and killed a 15-foot snake that had wrapped itself around a man’s neck Wednesday, Fox 29 reported.
“I’ve been doing this job for 19 years and this is the first time I’ve seen anything like this,” Lt. Peter Nickischer said.
Officers had responded to the house for a report of a man in cardiac arrest, but when they arrived they found a 28-year-old man on the floor with the mid-section of a snake wrapped around his neck.
One officer shot the snake in the head before pulling the man free. The man received emergency medical treatment before being taken to a hospital in unknown condition, according to the report.
“Had [the officer] not done that, I don’t know how they would’ve released the male from the grasp of the snake, honestly," Nickischer said.
Local officials said the snake was the man’s pet and that he had several snake enclosures in his home.