An African Rock Python escaped from a pet store in Canada, made its way to an apartment above, and strangled and killed two boys aged five and seven years old.

Autopsies on the boys will take place on Tuesday,  They are believed to have been sleeping over at their friend’s apartment above the “Reptile Ocean” pet store in Campbelltown, New Brunswick. 

The animal is identified as an African Rock Python, a type of snake that is non-venomous, but known to eat large animals like antelopes and even occasionally crocodiles.  It got upstairs through a ventilation shaft.  This one was at least 5 meters long and weighed 45 kilos.

The Reptile Ocean store was the target of a now-closed petition to shut it down, with the petitioner claiming the operator mistreats and neglects the animals it sells.  The store has been there for 15 years, but the snakes have been imported legally only since 2009.