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Pet python named ‘Chompers’ saves owner during armed robbery

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HOUSTON — A teenager is facing charges after he allegedly tried to rob a woman at gunpoint, but was foiled by the woman’s pet snake.

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The Houston Police Department shared video of two people allegedly involved in the robbery, which allegedly happened when a woman arranged to meet up with another woman to sell her pet snake. Houston police said the two women spoke on an app and agreed to meet in an apartment complex.

Ariel Giron told KPRC she was selling her ball python, Chompers, for $200, and had arranged to sell it to another woman who appeared to be interested in buying the snake.

When Giron arrived, she said she was approached by two children who did not have the $200, but said they would be able to get the money to her, KPRC reported. Giron said one of the children asked her to remove the snake from its carrier, and that’s when two men approached her from behind. One of the men was armed with a gun and demanded she give them the snake.

“(The gun) was straight to my temple,” Giron told KPRC. “Whenever I told him no, he was very stunned.”

Houston police said Giron threw the snake, which startled the would-be robbers enough to make them run away.

“I’m guessing he was scared of the snake,” Giron told KPRC. “The snake kind of went by him and he jumped back.”

Giron told KPRC she believes the snake saved her life, because she was then able to escape after tossing Chompers into the front seat of her truck.

A 17-year-old was booked Wednesday on two counts of aggravated robbery, according to court documents obtained by NBC News. A second person remains at large.

As for Chompers, Giron told KPRC, “Now, I guess he’s staying with me.”

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