Snapping turtle grabs boy's face

WARREN

A 16-year-old city boy found out they are called snapping turtles for a reason.

The boy was observing a snapping turtle in the Mahoning River near Norwood Avenue Northwest around 8:30 a.m. Saturday when he got his face too close, and the turtle bit him on the face and wouldn’t let go, said Warren police Sgt. Dick McAllise.

The boy carried the 20-pound turtle from the river bank to Tod Avenue Northwest, where a man driving by in a car noticed the boy and called 911.

At Forum Health Trumbull Memorial Hospital, doctors gave the turtle a shot of medication to force it to release its grip on the boy’s face, McAllise said, adding that he believes stitches were needed to close the wound on the boy’s face.