attack

‘They Wouldn't Stop': Man Stung By Hundreds of Bees in Oak Hills Home

"He's been stung so many times, and there was just a cloud of bees around him and crawling all over him and stinging him."

A 77-year-old man is fighting for his life after being attacked by a swarm of hundreds of bees Monday inside his Oak Hills home.

"He was sitting in a chair. He obviously gave up," the victim's nephew, Dennis, said. "He's been stung so many times, and there was just a cloud of bees around him and crawling all over him and stinging him."

Dennis pulled his uncle Larry to safety and called paramedics before beginning to pull hundreds of stingers out of his skin.

Larry was airlifted to Loma Linda University Medical Center, where he was put on a ventilator and given medication to combat the bee venom.

According to doctors, victims can die from bee stings if they are allergic and aren't treated right away or if they are stung multiple times.

"What happens is that it gets into your bloodstream and it can actually cause internal swelling," Heather Tassone, a doctor at Loma Linda Medical Center, said. "The most concerning area is the throats and the airways."

The attack has other High Desert residents on high alert. Some say they are noticing a lot more bees than ever before.

"They're in the trees. They're in the garage. They're in the yard," said one Oak Hills resident.

It is unclear where the bees came from, and the hive has not yet been located.

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