Snake Sneak Attack
Under Investigation

ODESSA, Texas — Next on the agenda: five-day waiting periods for duct tape and a ban on assault reptiles?

The Associated Press is reporting that 33 year-old television technician Edward Bowman found a live, four-foot rattlesnake duct-taped to his pickup, an apparent attempt on Bowman’s life — the second one.

"If I had reached for the door handle, I would have been bitten," Bowman said Thursday after finding the snake.

"The snake's rattler had been taped so it couldn't warn me, but his head was left loose so he could lunge at me," he said.

Last week, a rattler was left in the bed of his pickup.

Incredulous police took a report from Bowman, who said he has at least one suspect in mind.

Police have made no arrests, said Cpl. Bob Hammerman, who said the case was unique.

"In my 20-some years in law enforcement, I've never heard of a snake being used as a weapon," Hammerman said.

Bowman said he and the officers carefully removed the snake from his Mazda pickup so he could release it in a rural area.

"I wasn't going to kill it," Bowman said. "It was just an innocent animal, and it wasn't its fault. It was the fault of the sick person who did this."