Texas rattlesnake handler dies after bite at Rattlesnake Roundup

FREER, Texas — A rattlesnake handler has died after he was bitten at the Rattlesnake Roundup in Freer.

Freer Police Chief Hector Doria confirmed to 3News that Eugene De Leon Sr. was bitten in the shoulder around 1 p.m. Saturday. He was taken by helicopter to a hospital in Corpus Christi but died Saturday night at approximately 9 p.m.

One of the organizers of the Rattlesnake Roundup said that De Leon was performing and handling rattlesnakes in front of a crowd at the time he was bitten.

The Freer Chamber of Commerce puts on the Rattlesnake Roundup, and it’s the city’s largest festival of the year.

De Leon’s family wrote on Facebook that “he had a passion for snake handling” and that he was “doing what he loved doing.”

3News will have more on this story on 3News at 5:30 p.m.