Canada - Escaped Snake Kills 2 Children, Police Say - NYTimes.com Two children were killed in their sleep by a python that escaped from a pet shop, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police said Monday. The boys, 5 and 7 years old, were sleeping over at a friend's apartment above the store in Campbellton, New Brunswick, when the snake apparently made its way in through a ventilation shaft. An autopsy will determine the exact cause of death, but a police spokeswoman said it appeared that the children had been suffocated. It was not immediately clear how the snake had escaped from the store, but police officers recaptured it.