Gang uses snake as a weapon in street attack (must read!!)

A gang brandishing a snake as a 'weapon' attacked a 14-year-old boy with a 4ft (1.2m) python, forcing the reptile to bite the teenager's arm.

Police suspect the attack, in Bradley Stoke, South Gloucestershire, may have had a racist element to it and officers are appealing for witnesses.

The boy was pinned to the floor on Saturday afternoon, as one gang member forced the green python to attack.

Two youths aged 16 and 17, both boys, are being questioned.

...

Paramedics who attended the scene were left baffled by the injury and called Bristol Zoo for advice.


A spokesman for Great Western Ambulance service (GWAS) said: "Ambulance staff consulted Google and Bristol Zoo experts after a teenager was attacked by a group of youths."

The spokesman added that the group forced the snake to bite the boy on the arm, leaving two puncture wounds.

Pythons are ambush predators which rely on crushing their prey, and are not venomous.

Full article: news.bbc.co.uk...

First off, although this story IS horrible, there is something humorous that needs to be pointed out:
"Ambulance staff consulted Google and Bristol Zoo experts after a teenager was attacked by a group of youths." - lol, GOOGLE! The paramedics googled what to do! This to me is VERY funny, and shocking that they didn't know what to do. I learned how to treat snakebites in my Life Guard Class, how did the paramedics not know?!
Anyway, it is alarming that they are immediatly throwing race into the issue. I hope this is not labeled a "hate" crime.

star, and flag to the OP, for the entertainment.

I think it's fairly smart of the chicken *snip* gang banger's. I've long thought of a snake as an excellent weapon. Throw a rattle snake in the car of someone you really just don't like; should they live, and have an 'inklin' that you did it, my guess is they'd stay away from a crazy dude who did that.

To the story at hand??? Like I said, chicken*snip* gang bangers. Better the snake than a gun. I don't have too much sympathy for them, and think they should have the harshest punishment allowed; maybe we should create special punishment for them.




Mod Edit: Profanity/Circumvention Of Censors – Please Review This Link.

[edit on 8/9/2009 by JacKatMtn]

I wonder if you can dust a snake for fingerprints to prove that someone used the snake as a weapon, similar to using a gun????

The reason the paramedics didn't know what to do is that there is only one species of poisonous snake native to Britain, and adder attacks are very rare anyway.

Originally posted by rangersdad
I wonder if you can dust a snake for fingerprints to prove that someone used the snake as a weapon, similar to using a gun????

So would this classify as Fourth Degree Assault or Felony Assault with a Deadly Weapon?

Although this is unusual, a python is not deadly unless it wraps itself around a victim and constricts them to death by suffocation. Likewise, a python would not willingly bite someone...so it forced to open it's mouth by the assailants and it's fangs pressed against the victim until his skin was punctured.

So, it's normal Misdemeanor Assault, but I'd say hit them with a count of Misdemeanor Animal Cruelty on top of it.

Thankfully they didn't have an Asp, Cobra, Cottonmouth, Viper, or Rattle-snake, otherwise this would have had a different ending for the victim.

reply to post by fraterormus


Well I would like to see aggravated assault, assault with a weapon, and endangering an animal.

That would be the appropriate charges I would assume. Then again, I don't know what the statue of limitations is in Britain for your offenders, so they might get off with a slap on the wrist.

~Keeper

I've been bit by large pythons and boas more times than I can count. It's not really a big deal.

Pythons/boas have dozens of hooked razor sharp teeth in their mouth. It hurts when they bite, and it's difficult to get them to let go. However, because of the relatively weak jaw muscles, and sharp teeth, little actual damage is done to the skin. It's a bit like being poked by a couple dozen needles.

Snakes don't chew their food, so their mouths are actually very clean. Infections from the bight of a healthy snake are extremely rare.

Finally, it always looks worse than it is. The saliva of the snake causes the wound to bleed more than it normally would.

[atsimg]http://files.abovetopsecret.com/images/member/d39aad56fb35.jpg[/atsimg]

www.reptilerescueca.org...

If a python/boa ever gets a hold of you, one trick that has worked well for me is to splash a little bit of grain alcohol on the snake's nose (note: This really hurts the snake). Any kind of hard alcohol will work, and probably wine/beer as well.

[atsimg]http://files.abovetopsecret.com/images/member/fcbbd20be5ea.jpg[/atsimg]

[edit on 9-8-2009 by Kaytagg]

If your going to attack someone with a snake and expect to get away with it... you need to do it with style...

like... throw a staff on the floor and make it appear by magic... and yell something political or with meaning like "let my people go" or He be a Dark wizard that one"


Anything that makes the snake seem like it was magic... and no one not even the cops will mess with you...




[edit on 9-8-2009 by mopusvindictus]

Here in the midwest that would be about as scarry as a pocket full of wet pancakes. If someone throws a snake at you out here, you save the skin for some boots/belts, and eat the rest....taste like chicken, just like cats.

Originally posted by Kaytagg
I've been bit by large pythons and boas more times than I can count. It's not really a big deal.

Do you guard the Temple of Apep? Wrangle snakes for a living?

Can I just say the comments on this thread are cracking me up. Funnily enough I was just talking about using a cat as a weapon in the survivalists area.

...if someone walks up to me and whips out a snake, they better know how to swim...

Originally posted by rangersdad
I wonder if you can dust a snake for fingerprints to prove that someone used the snake as a weapon, similar to using a gun????

If its a Colt python you can.

"The spokesman added that the group forced the snake to bite the boy on the arm, leaving two puncture wounds."

Yeah, they forced the snake to do this by promising it some mice or rats. Whoever wrote this story is a turd.

Improvised, atleast. Not a new tactic, but different. Good to see someone thought outside of converntional means, and decided to get creative. Well done, I can say!

-Ze'Jesta

The snake that bit this kid was descibed as a green python. So it could have been an Emerald Tree Boa or a Green tree python.
GTP's and ETB's teeth are different from your normal pythons and boas. Normal pythons have short curved teeth to assist with swallowing and trapping of the food item.
Since GTP's and ETB's are arborial their teeth are up to 2 inches long and only slightly curved. So they can get a better grip on passing birds and arborial rodents.
I currently breed Ball pythons and Redtailed boas but in the past i have had several emerald tree boas. From full grown adults to the smallest of hatchlings. I have only ever been bitten once by an Emerald Tree boa and man does it hurt. The snake doesn't bite and hang on like you would think. Its a strike so fast you wont see it coming. Their teeth are very brittle and will most likely break off in your skin. I pulled 3 teeth over an inch long from my hand.
Here is a link to a Green Tree Pythons teeth.
www.univet.hu...

I would like to add a funny story. I had a pair of Adult red tailed boas about 7 feet long. I was feeding the female and i dropped the rat accedently in the cage. I normally hold the rat by the tail and let the snake take it from me. I dont release the tail till the snake has a strong grip. makes for a stronger feeding response.
Anyways i dropped the rat in the cage and made the mistake of trying to pick it up. As soon as i stuck my hand in the Female got me. And since she was in feeding mode she would not let go. With in seconds she had coiled around my arm and was crushing me with every ounce of her strength. I tried to pull my arm from the cage and she locked on to the center divider of the aquarium. I was stuck.
I keep a bottle of 10% bleach water in a spray bottle just in case something like this ever happens. But it was way out of reach. I yelled to my wife to come help me but she is terrified of snakes and would not enyter the room. Eventually i got ahold of a leather glove and used it to peel her upper jaw back and i uncoiled her. The whole event lasted 30 minutes. There was blood everywhere. Looked like a cow had been slaughtered. After i washed my hands i discovered that the wounds were tiny but man did they spew some blood.

Points for getting this...

Originally posted by Darkice19
I would like to add a funny story.

Out of this...

Originally posted by Darkice19There was blood everywhere. Looked like a cow had been slaughtered.

Seriously, you snake charmers are crazy. A friend who has a snake was telling me a "funny story" (he actually said that) about how his snake coiled itself around a dead rat, which duly exploded, leacing rat blood everywhere.