San Angelo Standard-Times,
SAN ANGELO, Texas — A 60-year-old man was sent to the hospital with several hundred bee stings Wednesday after he was attacked by a swarm in the 3700 block of Bowie Street.
San Angelo Fire Department Lt. Tony Huston said the man was using a weed eater in the area when he was attacked.
Three women were stung, but sought medical care on their own.
Two of those women, ages 36 and 57, were reportedly treated at the scene by medics, according to a police news release. The third woman, age 38, went to a nearby hospital by private vehicle.
“We found the bee hive,” Huston said. “It was in the back in the wall. We had to take down part of the wall.
“We got rid of a lot of them. There’s still a lot of strays flying around.”
Police said the hive was inside a store restroom that was not open to the public.
Huston said when the man, whom he could not identify because of federal laws, was conscious when he was dropped off at Shannon Medical Center. Once firefighters arrived they didn’t have time to put on protective gear, but immediately began spraying foam at the man and at firefighters who went to assist him. Medics sustained stings, Huston said, but nothing nearly as “desperate” as the man’s injuries.
“When we got there they were just swarming all over him,” Huston said. “He couldn’t get rid of them.”
A lady had came out and tried to give the man a blanket, Huston said, but she ended up getting stung as well. When medics arrived he was kneeling in the parking lot with hundreds of bees swarming around his head. They continued to spray as firefighters took care of him.
Firefighters talked to the man until the ambulance arrived.
The fire department used the spray foam to suffocate the bees.
When bees are aggressive fire department personnel assume they’re Africanized bees, but they don’t know for sure, Assistant Chief of Operations Scott Farris said.
A call for service from the police department to assist the fire department came in just before 10:30 a.m. Wednesday. Officials told reporters to stay away from the area.
A woman called 911 to report the attack near Blackie’s Grab & Go at 3702 Bowie St. and said a man was being attacked by the bees, according to a news release from the police department.
“At the time of arrival, the bees were still actively attacking a 54-year-old man. Officers requested a medic. Medics arrived and transported the man to Shannon Medical Center for treatment. His current condition is unknown,” according to the news release.
It was unclear what the man’s relationship was to the other people who were stung.
Police said the city’s Office of Code Enforcement was notified about the location. A bee specialist was called to determine the species and assess the issue.
“The store’s owner reportedly shut the business down for the remainder of the afternoon for safety reasons,” the release states.
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©2014 the San Angelo Standard-Times (San Angelo, Texas)