Deadly Snake Bites 10-Year-Old Child In School's Playground

A 10-year-old child in Texas was hospitalized Tuesday after being bitten by a deadly snake.

The child was in the playground of High Point Elementary School in Temple when the snake attacked him. Temple Fire & Rescue arrived at the school at 1635 Starlight Dr after they were informed about the incident. The reptile, identified as a rattlesnake, bit the child on his foot. The boy was taken to Scott & White Medical Center.

“The snake has been captured and is no longer a threat to the public,” Temple spokeswoman Alejandra Arreguin said, according to KWTX.

Authorities said the child's injuries were not life-threatening.

Temple Fire & Rescue issued a warning to the residents to be careful as a rise in temperature increases the chances of people having more snake encounters. They advised the public to pay close attention to their surroundings during the warmer season.

The agency also shared some safety tips to help prevent snake bites, ABC's KXXV reported. Officials with Temple Fire & Rescue said people should be cautious near high grass, trash or wood piles. They must leave snakes alone if they spot one. People should move things around with a shovel instead of picking up items with their hand in case one cannot see what's underneath an object. The agency also said people must not pick up snakes. It is likely that snakes will go away if people back away from the area where these reptiles are located.

Last month in California, a man was hospitalized after he was bitten by a rattlesnake as he tried to pick up the reptile with barbecue tongs. Riverside County Animal Services responded to the home and found the reptile coiled near the bushes in the property. The snake was removed from the scene and placed in a storage bucket. Officers later euthanized the snake as they did not think it was safe to release the reptile near the community.

"We try to release rattlesnakes within one mile of where we remove it from, but it was highly likely this snake might end up in one of the adjacent homes again. I didn’t believe a routine release would be safe this time," Officer Mike McGee said at the time.