A Texas woman, Rachel Kelly-McKee, was attacked by more than 300 Africanized bees while visiting a storage facility in Rockport, Texas, on August 15th. The incident occurred only four months after she had recovered from a fractured spine.
Surveillance footage from Goose Island Park Storage captured Kelly-McKee walking with her German Shepherd, Chelsea, near trees when a swarm of bees began to surround her. Kelly-McKee told CNN that she believes her dog may have provoked the bees. "She came in, and I noticed she had a few bees on her… I thought they were honeybees. I said, 'Don't bring the bees in here,'" she recounted. "The minute we cleared that door, I was just absolutely inundated."
Kelly-McKee attempted to escape the swarm, but became trapped behind an automatic storage gate that required a moving vehicle to open. The storage facility owner remotely opened the gate upon seeing the commotion, allowing her to leave.
Aransas County Sheriff Department Deputy Will Newsom and the Lamar Volunteer Fire Department responded to the scene. Newsom stated his plan was to quickly get Kelly-McKee into his patrol car to move her to the Lamar Fire Station for medical attention. He used a hose to spray her with water, dislodging many of the bees. "I mean, one bee sting can be fatal to some people. She took over 300 stings, which is definitely in the fatal range. So, I knew that we had a limited amount of time to be able to get her out of the situation, get her to medical care," Newsom told reporters.
Africanized honeybees, often referred to as killer bees, are known to be more defensive than European honeybees. According to the University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources, these bees can swarm and pursue targets for up to a quarter mile when their nests are disturbed.
Kelly-McKee is reportedly not seeking blame for the incident and expressed a desire for public awareness regarding bee safety.
