Pennsylvania police found roughly 100 venomous snakes, a crocodile, a lizard and a dead body inside a home Tuesday, according to multiple reports.
Officers from the Aliquippa Police Department arrived at the residence after one roommate called about an unresponsive 23-year-old man in their home, according to WTAE. The man was already dead when the police arrived, the outlet reported. Officers also allegedly found hundreds of reptiles inside the home and alerted Aliquippa Code Enforcement Officer Jim Bologna to take them out of the residence.
The man had been bitten by a snake, but it was an old bite and could be ruled out as his cause of death, WTAE reported, citing the toxicologist. The man’s precise cause of death remains unclear pending the coroner’s report, according to the outlet.
Bologna removed roughly 100 venomous snakes, a lizard and a crocodile from the residence, WTAE reported. He said non-venomous snakes were allowed to stay. “The neighbors should not be concerned; they were all removed,” Bologna said, according to the outlet. “Professionals checked the exterior of the house and the surrounding yards.”
Police also allegedly found a three-year-old girl in a high chair that was positioned one foot away from a latched tank containing venomous snakes, Newser reported. The Beaver County Bureau of Child and Family Services were called after officers discovered the toddler inside the residence, according to The Beaver County Times.
Neighbors are reportedly still worried about the situation. “I don’t know if there’s a snake in my grass. I don’t even know if I could walk to the bus stop without seeing a snake,” one neighbor told WTAE. “Concerned, definitely, about the kids. We have a playground that’s not even … more than 1,000 feet away from the house. That’s kinda scary.”
“There was a cobra in there, a rattlesnake in there, black mambas,” said Jim Bologna, a code enforcement officer. https://t.co/UJVBtt0nyu
— WWAY News (@WWAY) March 27, 2023
The 23-year-old and another man who allegedly lives in the house ran something akin to a reptile business together, WTAE reported. Bologna told the outlet keeping venomous reptiles in a home, even with a permit, is against the city of Aliquippa’s code. Violating city code in such a way could lead to fines of up to $1,000 per venomous reptile for the home’s residents, he added.
“There was an estimated amount of 200 snakes inside this home. I want to say 75 percent of these snakes and lizards inside the home were venomous,” Beaver County Humane Officer Tristan Wenzig told WTAE.
The Aliquippa Police Department did not immediately respond to the Daily Caller’s request for comment.