A 2-year-old girl was strangled to death by a 12 foot Burmese python this morning, in Florida of course. Police are now questioning the mother and her boyfriend to find out exactly what happened and if this tragedy could have been prevented.

This picture is a dramatization.

The murderous snake was owned by Charles Jason Darnell, boyfriend of the young victim’s mother. Because Burmese pythons can grow so large, their owners are required to have a permit, but Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission said that Darnell did not have one. He now could face charges of child endangerment and neglect.

Darnell told police that he put the python in its aquarium in the living room last night. When he woke up this morning, the snake had escaped and was on top of the 2-year-old in another room. He stabbed the snake with a knife to free the child, and then called 911.

The home where it all went down.

Anyone who has owned a python knows that they are a lot smarter than they look. I used to have a 3 foot ball python, and he escaped once — much to the dismay of my kitten. Luckily, he got hungry again after a couple of weeks and actually returned to his aquarium. That’s a smart fuckin’ snake!

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission says that people often release pythons into the wild if they grow too large. The snakes thrive in Florida’s climate and end up doing crazy shit like eating alligators and exploding afterward.

The most badass thing to happen in nature, ever.

I recommend every snake owner release their slithery friend back into the wild so more stuff like this happens — alligator-snake explosions, not the strangle death of children.