Young Kids Strangled to Death by Escaped Python

Two young boys were killed by a python that escaped its enclosure at a pet store in Canada, according to local police. The brothers, aged five and seven, were sleeping in a friend's apartment above the pet store when the snake strangled them, says Royal Canadian Mounted Police Const. Julie Rogers-Marsh. Police arrived at the apartment in Campbellton, New Brunswick, at 6:30am and found the two boys dead.

The friend of the brothers was sleeping in another room and was unharmed. Authorities believe the snake made its way into the apartment through the ventilation system overnight. The snake was captured and is in the possession of police. "It's very, very unusual and very tragic and difficult for everyone involved," says Rogers-Marsh. (More snake stories.)