Shoppers can find just about anything these days at Target, but a woman got more than she bargained for earlier this week in North Carolina.
While shopping Monday at a Target store in Apex, the woman stumbled across a snake, according to NBC affiliate WRAL.
A black rat snake apparently made its way onto the baked beans shelf, WRAL reported.
“I thought it was a child’s toy, so I thought, ‘Oh, my goodness, someone is pranking me. Where’s the camera? This is a joke because it was totally still,’” said Diane Dupre, who found the snake.
Dupre grabbed her beans, convinced the snake was fake, and then went to take a picture.
“As I zoomed in, I was going to take a photo, the tongue came out, and that’s how I knew it was a real snake,” she told WRAL.
Dupre called for help, alone in the canned goods section with the long snake, WRAL reported.
“See, he’s slithering. Oh, my gosh, I can’t even look at this. I’m telling the men to hurry,” Dupre said.
The snake, which is harmless according to an expert who chatted with the NBC affiliate, might have found its way inside on a cart or by some other form of transportation, a Target team member told WRAL.
The snake was removed safely by Target team members, who released it back into the wild.
“I thought it was a child's toy, so I thought, ‘Oh, my goodness, someone is pranking me. Where's the camera? This is a joke because it was totally still.'"
Rat snakes are out of hibernation, an expert told the NBC affiliate, and it’s possible the snake hibernated inside the store during the winter.
Crews immediately disinfected the area where the snake was found, WRAL reported, and the store planned to bring in a pest control company to do a thorough sweep of the store.
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