911 call about intruder gets laughs after South Carolina cops take snake into custody

A 911 call about a home intruder is getting laughs on social media, after police in South Carolina reported they took a snake into custody.

It happened Thursday, Feb. 24, in Pickens, about 120 miles northwest of Columbia.

“We get a wide variety of calls for service. Today was no different,” Pickens police reported in a Facebook post.

“When we learned that a citizen had a black rat snake attempting to enter their home without permission, we jumped into action. We surrounded the home, tactically entered the residence and successfully took one black rat snake into custody without injury to the suspect or officers.”

Black rat snakes are not venomous but can grow to intimidating lengths of more than 6 feet and they have an uncanny ability to climb things, including trees and walls, according to the Savannah River Ecology Laboratory at the University of Georgia.

They’re also known to vibrate their tail like a rattlesnake “and expel malodorous musk” when threatened, the lab says.

Police didn’t offer details of how long it took to catch the snake or if it resisted arrest.

However, the incident was used as an opportunity to warn the community that warmer weather means they “may start to see some of this culprit’s friends.”

“On a side note, the suspect was given time served and released back into the wild,” police said.

This story was originally published February 25, 2022 at 7:16 AM with the headline "911 call about intruder gets laughs after South Carolina cops take snake into custody."