A sniper, a snake and one creepy photo are causing thousands of people to squirm
If there's one thing worse than being surprised by a snake, it's being forced to lie still while one crawls over you.
That's what happened to an Army National Guard sniper earlier this month during a training mission in Florida, and the creepy moment was captured by a National Guard photographer and posted on Facebook.
The image, which has sparked thousands of responses on social media, shows a snake slithering across the barrel of a semi-automatic rifle, held perfectly still by junior Army National Guard sniper Pfc. William Snyder.
It happened April 7 at Eglin Air Force Base in western Florida, while Snyder was practicing woodland stalking, says the Alabama National Guard.
"Our snipers are trained to remain perfectly still for hours on end when in position and remain invisible to enemies and even wildlife," said the Facebook post.
The snake is a nonvenomous Southern black racer, a breed known to charge people and bite repeatedly when cornered, according to website Owlcation.com. They're fast and can grow up to 72 inches long, the site says.
The photo was posted April 12 on Facebook and has gotten thousands of reactions and comments, many from people applauding Snyder for his commitment to stay perfectly still.
"Oh my God, beyond my belief," posted Trudy Bateman or Richmond, Virginia.
"I absolutely DO NOT want to play any kind of role in an organization that allows snakes to slither across them," posted Mandy Pope Smith of Dothan, Alabama.
"The snake is not what bothers me about this, it's the idea of someone remaining perfectly still for hours that gives me the heebie jeebies," posted Katie Halligan on Facebook.
"Would a warm puddle attract the snake? Because that would be my reaction to a....rope slithering by that close to my face," wrote Anne Charlotte Balduf on the the Facebook page of the Alabama National Guard.
This story was originally published April 19, 2018 at 12:38 PM with the headline "A sniper, a snake and one creepy photo are causing thousands of people to squirm."