NEW YORK (WCBS 880) — Social media was set ablaze on Tuesday over what appeared to be a large police presence in Brooklyn to capture a loose snake.
Twitter user @mannyfidel first posted about the scene in Bedford-Stuyvesant around 3 p.m.
“reporting live from bed stuy where the nypd has dispatched 3 cruisers, an emergency service unit, and seemingly a helicopter to capture a snake (sic),” he wrote on Twitter.
Photos attached to the social media post showed two police cruisers and an emergency service unit parked in front of a residential building where a sign read “Warning: Loose Snake.”
Dozens of users replied to the post, and one even shared a screenshot of a notification from Citizen App, in which Brooklynites were warned about a “vicious snake on gate.”
Another user commented, saying the snake could help control the city’s pest problem.
“With all the rats living in the city, you would think they would let the snake loose to roam,” the user wrote.
The original poster later confirmed that the snake had been apprehended, and posted a photo showing a police officer using a metal rod to safely capture the snake.
NYPD officials later confirmed to WCBS 880 that officers first responded to the scene on Herkimer Street around 1:30 p.m.
Police say the snake was a 3-foot long brown and tan “constrictor-type,” prompting officers to request assistance from the Emergency Service Unit.
ESU officers responded and after about 10 minutes were able to capture the snake from underneath a stoop and place it in a pillowcase.
The snake was then transported to Animal Care and Control in Brooklyn.
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