Credit: Chad Sparkes, Flickr CC

An Ohio pet store owner is walking away with his life this week after almost becoming dinner for a 125-pound python he housed in his shop.

Local police were dispatched to a Newport, Ohio store on Monday after receiving a 911 call from a store employee who said the snake had curled around her boss’ arm during feeding time. By the time police arrived, the 20-foot reptile was furled around the man’s head, neck, and torso, crushing him.

The Cincinnati Enquirer reports:

Two officers pulled the the 125-pound snake off Terry Wilkens, owner of Captive Born Reptiles, police chief Tom Collins said.

Wilkens was not breathing when officers freed him, Collins said, but he resumed breathing before he was taken to University of Cincinnati Medical Center.

Collins said the victim appeared to be doing O.K. at the hospital and was talking.

The call came around 11 a.m. and Lt. Gregory Ripberger and Sgt. Daron Armberg were at the store within minutes, Collins said.

“It was only by the grace of God that one of the officers knew how to deal with snakes,” Collins said.

Ripberger grabbed the snake by the head and worked to uncurl it off Wilkens’ body. Collins and other officers pulled Wilkens by his legs to free him.

The snake is being held at the store until animal control decides what to do with it, according to the Enquirer.

This article appears in Sep 30 – Oct 6, 2015.

Alaina Nutile is the Web Editor who oversees all digital content and social media initiatives for Cleveland Scene Magazine and Detroit Metro Times. Before joining the staff in June 2013, she interned at Business Insider in New York City, and at La Hora in Quito, Ecuador. Alaina is a graduate of Kalamazoo College in Michigan, where she double majored in English and Spanish. Her interests include Japanese food, Breaking Bad, and career development advising.

4 replies on “Ohio Man Almost Killed by 125-Pound Python”

  2. It’s Newport, Kentucky — NOT Newport, Ohio. Newport KY is literally a bridge away from Cincinnati.

  3. I’m so glad to find the man and snake both were alive after the incident.
    I am curious as to why the snake was able to wrap around the man during feeding time. A lot of precautions go into feeding these immense creatures.

  4. Interesting how the employee that called the police was not capable of grabbing the snake by the head and work to unwrap her boss instead of waiting for the police to arrive. Probably the owners fault for not training her.

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