Large Burmese python snakes are a reality in South Florida, and some residents in a town south of Miami had an interesting encounter with one before the Fourth of July.

After a 12-foot python was spotted in the middle of the road in a Florida City gated community, some neighbors were able to trap the snake inside a barbecue grill.

A young boy, Juan Rivero Jr., first saw the beast.

"I was with my dad, and when I seen it I jumped off my bike and ran," he said . "I was scared. I'd never seen that before."

Said Juan Rivero, Sr., "I saw something in the middle of the road, and I thought it was a palm frond. When I looked and got closer, swerved the bike out of the way, and the kids were freaking out, there was a 12-foot python crossing the road."

The reptile quickly became the talk of the town. Daryl Brooks, who calls the community home, has kept a python as a pet, but even she wasn't ready for this monster surprise.

"My daughter said, 'There's a snake come to the gate; tell me what it is,' and I said, 'OK, I'll be right there.' and I look and it's on the lady's porch and it was huge, and I said, 'Oh my God, it's a python,' and the head was bigger than my hand," Brooks said.

Shocked but not scared, Brooks tried to take matters into her own hands. But the reptile was just too much for her to handle alone.

"I was scared to grab her by myself," Brooks said. "She was pretty strong, so I saw a guy and said, 'Hey, are you scared of snakes?' and he said, 'No.' I said, 'Come over here,' and it had slid and hid under the lady's barbecue grill."

While they wrangled the reptile, others dialed 911.

"We managed to get it in the barbecue and under the cover of the barbecue," Juan Rivero Sr. said. "The owner of the house brought us a pillow case, and eventually the tail just went in the pillowcase, so we had to use the barbecue cover to get it into it."

It took at least a half hour before first responders reached the scene. The python was turned over to Florida Fish and Wildlife.

"I wouldn't want my pet coming out seeing that because usually pets see it and try to run after it, start barking," Juan Rivero Jr. said. "There was a cat outside and it was going for the cat, so the lady was freaking out and brought it inside."

Brook said, "She was beautiful, though. She was quite beautiful. I took a lot of pictures of her."