Man shot friend instead of snake, Seminole County deputies say

SANFORD, Fla. – A man accidentally shot his friend in his leg on Thursday night while he was trying to kill a snake, according to Seminole County deputies.

Deputies said three men were riding down Sylvan Lake Drive at 11 p.m. Thursday night and stopped so one of them could use the bathroom when they spotted a large snake in the roadway.

Christopher Rape then exited the vehicle in an attempt to scare it back toward the roadway when Jared Hemphill got a Remington Speedmaster semi-automatic rifle from the truck and fire a shot at the snake, according to the incident report.

Instead, Hemphill accidentally shot Rape in the leg and threw his gun down, deputies said. The trio called authorities, who investigated the shooting, deemed it accidental and took Rape to the hospital.

No criminal charges have been filed.