Pastor dies after snake he was handling bit him

More on serpent handling churches

Read this special report from the Times Free Press for more background on serpent handling churches.

photo Jamie Coots, pastor of the Full Gospel Tabernacle in Jesus Name church of Middlesboro, Ky, stands on a bench before the church singing and holding a rattlesnake during service at Tabernacle Church of God in LaFollette, Tenn on May 6, 2012. Coots has been handling snakes in his KY church for (Photo by Shelley Mays)

(WBIR) Kentucky Pastor Jamie Coots died Saturday night after he was bitten by a snake, according to Middlesboro Police Chief Jeff Sharpe.

Coots starred on "Snake Salvation" alongside Pastor Andrew Hamblin, from LaFollette, who was recently in court for TWRA citations for snake-handling. The National Geographic show profiled the Pentecostal, serpent handling preachers.

Chief Sharpe said Coots was found dead in his home at about 10 p.m. Saturday after a snake allegedly bit Coots while he was handling the animal in his Middlesboro church, Full Gospel Tabernacle in Jesus Name.

Read more from our partners at The Tennessean.

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