×

Briefly

Snake lands on Mississippi woman

MCCOMB, Miss. (AP) — A woman in Mississippi received a slithering surprise when she got home from work last week: a snake that had been lodged on top of her front door landed on her head.

The encounter happened after the intruder made its way on top of Christina Mitchell’s door on Thursday, the Enterprise-Journal reported. “I felt this thump on my head,” Mitchell said. “I looked down and the snake had landed at my feet in the house.”

The newspaper reports the 10-inch serpent then darted to the kitchen while Mitchell called her husband to let him know about their new visitor. But she didn’t wait for help. She grabbed a broom and ushered the reptile out of her house in McComb, a city located about 80 miles south of Jackson.

“He did his striking pose because it was just a scared little rat snake,” Mitchell said. “He tried to bite at my broom whenever I put him outside. He probably thought that was really rude. We kind of had a stare-down.”

Based on the photo Mitchell took, her sparring partner looked like an Eastern Rat snake, a largely nonvenomous reptile, according to the National Wildlife Federation.

Man charged in death dies by suicide

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — A white business owner charged with manslaughter for fatally shooting a Black man during protests in Nebraska has died by suicide days after his indictment, his attorney said Sunday.

Jacob Gardner, of Omaha, Nebraska, was found dead Sunday outside a medical clinic in Hillsboro, Oregon, the Hillsboro Police Department said in a news release. His attorney, Stu Dornan, said in a news conference Sunday evening that Gardner’s death was a suicide.

“Unfortunately there are two men who have died in a terrible tragedy,” Dornan said. “It’s a terrible tragedy for the Omaha community, it’s a terrible tragedy for James Scurlock and his family. It’s a terrible tragedy for the Gardner family.”

A grand jury on Tuesday charged Gardner, 38, with manslaughter in the death of James Scurlock, the Black man authorities say Gardner shot May 30 during a protest against police brutality and racial injustice outside Gardner’s bar in Omaha, Nebraska. Gardner had said the shooting was done in self-defense.

Newsletter

Today's breaking news and more in your inbox

I'm interested in (please check all that apply)
Are you a paying subscriber to the newspaper? *
   

Starting at $4.65/week.

Subscribe Today