Shortly after President Obama killed a fly with his bare hand during a filmed interview with CNBC, the body of a raccoon that has lived on the White House grounds since 1988 was discovered by Secret Service agents.
"It appears Snuffy was murdered, apparently by a blow to the head," one agent said.
Snuffy, a gift to then-President Reagan by British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, largely stayed out of sight but was well known to White House insiders for his gentle disposition and fetish for sugar cubes.
White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs initially claimed no knowledge of Snuffy's demise, but later told journalists Obama accidentally killed the raccoon during "some playful roughhousing" immediately after the CNBC interview.
"After the fly encounter, the President's blood was up," Gibbs said. "Mr. Obama was just going to box Snuffy's ears a little, but things got out of hand. Snuffy was old, and he could get cranky when people screwed with him."
An eyewitness to the raccoon's death offered a different account. "The President was looking for trouble," the source said. "He chased Snuffy down, snatched him up by the scruff of the neck, and slugged him with a closed fist. It was awful."
The source said Obama then shouted, "I got the sucker!" -- the same words he used after killing the fly.
A spokesman for PETA said they were saddened by Snuffy's death, but would not seek an investigation.
"Snuffy had a good life," PETA President Ingrid Newkirk said. "We have to believe if Mr. Obama killed him, he must have had a damn good reason."
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