OXFORD, Fla. — A 12-foot pet Burmese python broke out of an aquarium and strangled a 2-year-old girl in her bedroom Wednesday at a central Florida home, authorities said.
Shaunnia Hare was already dead when paramedics arrived about 10 a.m., Lt. Bobby Caruthers of the Sumter County Sheriff’s Office said.
Charles Jason Darnell, the snake’s owner and the boyfriend of Shaunnia’s mother, discovered the snake was missing from its aquarium and went to the girl’s room, where he found it on the girl and bite marks on her head, Caruthers said. Darnell, 32, stabbed the snake until he was able to pry the child away.
Darnell did not have a permit for the snake, which would be a second-degree misdemeanor, said Joy Hill, a spokeswoman with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. He has not been charged, but Caruthers said investigators were looking into whether there was child neglect or if any other laws were broken.
Authorities removed the snake — still alive — from the home. Hill said the snake will be placed with someone who has a permit.
