A man in Jurupa Valley, California, experienced a severe bee attack on August 9, 2024, which left him with 200 stings. His 12-year-old son was also stung, and two of their four horses died from the bee stings, according to reports from Cal Fire/Riverside County firefighters.
The man, Antonio Moreno, shared his ordeal with KABC/7, expressing gratitude for surviving the incident, calling it a “miracle.”
“I am strong. They could have killed me. The doctor told me it’s a miracle that I’m alive,” Moreno told the news reporter in Spanish.
The attack occurred around 7:30 p.m. while Moreno and his son were feeding their horses. The bees began stinging one of the horses, prompting Moreno to intervene. However, the bees turned on him, forcing both Moreno and his son to flee to safety. They were later treated by paramedics and taken to the hospital.
Moreno described the physical effects of the stings, saying his throat began to close up, and he felt intense chest pain. According to Karina Espinoza, a Cal Fire spokesperson, firefighters used foam, typically deployed for burning jet fuel, to subdue the bees and, hopefully, rescue the horses.
Unfortunately, by the time the foam was deployed, one horse had already died from bee stings, and the other horse passed away soon after while they attempted to load her into the trailer.
The bees had been residing beneath a shed on Moreno’s property for two years without issue. However, it’s not uncommon for hives to become aggressive over time, especially after a new queen mates with a more hostile colony.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture notes that while most people can tolerate multiple stings, those with allergies could be at risk from just one sting. From 2011 to 2021, 788 people in the U.S. died from stings, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
