A 4.5-foot copperhead snake bit a customer Monday afternoon at the Lowe’s Home Improvement store in Denver, North Carolina, East Lincoln Fire Department officials said in a Facebook post.

The customer was alert and conscious when firefighters arrived. He was taken to the hospital.

The bite victim’s condition was not immediately known.

Authorities are warning customers to be careful of snakes in trees of any store that has a gardening department.

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Inventor Lonnie Johnson stands with his Super Soaker water guns at JTEC Energy on Wednesday, Oct. 29, 2025, in Atlanta. Johnson, a former NASA engineer, is currently working on a new energy technology through his company’s JTEC device that turns thermal heat into usable energy. (Natrice Miller/AJC)