From a crab apparently brandishing a blade to a man driving through a locked grocery store because he needed a bathroom, the US saw its share of bizarre incidents in the second half of September.
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US → brandish → September
Here are five unusual stories that may have escaped the headlines.
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that → escape → headlines
‘Knife-wielding’ crab confronts Florida man and his dog
A Florida man had an unexpected backyard confrontation when his dog came across a blue land crab apparently holding a blade in one of its claws.
Eduardo Alvarez posted a video of the encounter on Instagram on September 16.
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Alvarez → wield → September
In the footage, his dog, Summer, approaches the crab before the crustacean appears to wave the blade at the animal and later at Alvarez.
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crustacean → approach → Alvarez
Alvarez eventually manages to pick up the crab and move it farther into his yard.
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Alvarez → manage → yard
He jokingly describes it as a “gangster-ass crab”.
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He → describe → crab
The video quickly went viral, with reports saying it had attracted more than 20 million views.
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it → go → views
The object appears to be part of a pocketknife, although it is unclear how the crab came to be holding it.
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crab → appear → it
Police dismantle New Jersey car to rescue 3-foot python
Police in Franklin Township, New Jersey, had to take apart part of a car after a roughly three-foot python became trapped inside its front grille.
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python → dismantle → grille
The incident was reported to police on September 14, and officers found the snake wedged inside the vehicle.
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snake → report → vehicle
Body-camera footage released by authorities showed officers removing portions of the car's front end to free the ball python.
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officers → release → python
Photographs released by police showed the snake tightly lodged behind the grille before it was eventually removed.
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it → release → grille
The circumstances of how the python got into the vehicle were not immediately clear.
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python → get → vehicle
"I was just really happy that it didn't, like, pop its head through the AC vent when I was driving or come in through the steering wheel," the woman Aiyana Hudson said.
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woman → pop → wheel
"I want to let you know my car would have been lit on fire, and we'd be calling the fire department at that point.
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we → want → point
Virginia police chase runaway pig through the rain
Two police officers in Virginia found themselves involved in an unusual pursuit after a pig escaped and began running alongside a roadway in Dale City.
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pig → chase → City
The Prince William County Police Department posted video of the officers chasing the animal through a rain-soaked roadside area on September 22, adding the caption: “There's a cop joke here, right?”
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officers → post → caption
Police said they had received reports of a pig and a dog roaming loose in the area since the previous day.
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they → say → day
Officers eventually caught the pig near Trident Lane and Dale Boulevard.
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Officers → catch → Lane
Police later said the dog that had been roaming with the pig was struck and killed by a vehicle at another location.
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that → say → location
Suspect bites police K-9's ear during SWAT standoff in California
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Suspect → bite → California
A SWAT operation in Southern California took an unusual turn when a suspect allegedly bit a police dog during his arrest.
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suspect → take → arrest
Redondo Beach police said K-9 Wouter was deployed to help officers apprehend a wanted felon who had barricaded himself inside a home in Wilmington.
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who → say → Wilmington
During the apprehension, police said, the suspect bit Wouter and tore off part of the dog's ear.
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suspect → say → ear
Wouter was taken to an animal hospital for treatment and was later photographed wearing a protective cone.
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Wouter → take → cone
The Redondo Beach Police Department shared photos of the injured K-9 while wishing him a speedy recovery.
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Department → share → recovery
Texas man drives through closed Kroger because he needed a bathroom
A 60-year-old Texas man allegedly took an extreme approach to a bathroom emergency when he drove his vehicle through the entrance of a closed Kroger supermarket.
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he → drive → supermarket
The incident happened at about 4:30am on September 27 in Rosenberg, southwest of Houston.
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incident → happen → Houston
According to police, the man became upset after finding the store's doors locked and intentionally accelerated his vehicle through the pharmacy entrance.
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doors → accord → entrance
Police said their investigation revealed that the man needed to use the restroom.
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man → say → restroom
The crash caused extensive damage to the store's entrance, and the man was arrested on a criminal-mischief charge.
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man → cause → charge
The Rosenberg Police Department summed up the bizarre incident with a tongue-in-cheek warning: if you need to use a restroom, find a business that is actually open.
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that → sum → business
The Aporia
