Maryland police found a man dead in his Maryland home. Police say that he was surrounded with 125 snakes that he kept in tanks. CBS News reported.
CBS News reported that officials were summoned to Pomfret, in Charles County, to conduct a wellness check. He was found unconscious by neighbors who peered into his window.
Officials arrived at Thursday’s home to find the 49 year-old resident, surrounded with over 100 other people, on the floor. “venomous and non-venomous snakes of different varieties … in tanks situated on racks,”According to officials
Officials have not released the man’s identity and apparently lived alone. CBS News reported that his neighbors weren’t aware that he had snakes inside their home.
Jennifer Harris, a spokesperson of Charles County Animal Control, said WRC-TVThese breeds included cobras, pythons as well as rattlesnakes and black mambas.
Officials claimed that the snakes were not in danger. “meticulously cared for”However, some were venomous or illegal to possess in Maryland.
“Nobody seemed to be aware that he was harboring snakes inside the home,”Harris later spoke out NBC News.
An autopsy will be completed to determine the cause of his death. According to NBC News, Harris said there were no signs of foul play or that any reptiles had killed him.
“We don’t anticipate that there was any security issue with any of the snakes escaping,” Harris said to NBC News. “His neighbors knew him well, but no one had ever actually seen his home to find out what was happening there.”
Harris made the rounds to local media outlets following the discovery of the body and the reptiles, and said that it was the biggest collection of snakes the county’s animal control chief, Ed Tucker, had ever encountered in his more than 30 years of experience.
“I am here to assure the community. [and]Harris stated that anyone who lives in the area has not noticed any snakes not properly secured, or could have fled. WUSA. “I understand that people were concerned about the dangers to nearby residents, but we haven’t yet discovered or determined whether any snakes were actually not secured after the death of this gentleman.”