Shovel-wielding 73-year-old woman kills cobra found in her backyard

FALLS, Pa. — A 73-year-old woman who spotted a cobra outside her apartment door Monday sprang into action, grabbing a shovel and using it to kill the serpent, according to multiple reports.

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Kathy Kehoe told KYW-TV that she looked outside her kitchen window around 2 p.m. Monday after hearing birds squawking. She found the cobra slithering across her porch, KYW-TV reported.

"When I opened the screen door to see what kind of a snake it was, the birds flew away and I saw the spot on its back," Kehoe told WPVI. "I kind of nudged its tail, and it came up and spread its hood, and I said, 'That's a cobra.'"

She snapped two photos of the snake before chasing after it with a shovel in her hands.

"I saw it take off and I was like, 'This animal can't be here. It's a poisonous reptile,'" she told WPVI. "I can't have a poisonous snake. There (are) little kids here."

Animal control experts later confirmed the snake was a 4 1/2-foot Asian cobra, KYW-TV reported.

"I was just concerned for everybody else, because not everyone would know," Kehoe told WPVI.

The news station reported Kehoe believes the snake might have been roaming her apartment complex for months before Monday's encounter. Authorities removed 20 venomous snakes from another apartment in her complex in March, according to The Associated Press. Officials were not certain the snake had escaped from that roundup, the AP reported.

Wildlife experts recommend that anyone who sees a venomous snake leave it be and call authorities.

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