Police are on the lookout for three sneaky pranksters who tossed a 3-foot-long python into a Round Rock Taco Bell last Sunday night.

According to the Statesman, the antics were meant to frighten 20-year-old store employee Bryant Simmons, a confirmed ophidiophobe. The snake, which was perfectly harmless but nevertheless terrifying in its inability to blink and biblical connotations of pure evil, was hurled through the drive-through window, smacking Simmons in the chest.

The poor kid still hadn't found his marbles by the time police arrived; the python, on the other hand, ended up in good hands: an employee at the nearby Thundercloud Subs was more than happy to adopt it, saying, "As soon as I saw it, I had to have it." The rascally reptile now goes by "Joker."

Authorities believe the suspects to have been riding in a white Dodge Ram emblazoned with a "Ram Sport" logo on the back windshield, and a "For Sale" message in shoe polish slathered on the passenger's side window.

Photo by Mendis on flickr