Swarm of bees sting Jurupa Valley man more than 200 times, kill 2 horses

JURUPA VALLEY, Calif. (KABC) -- A Jurupa Valley man was stung more than 200 times and his two horses were killed in a frightening bee attack.

"I am strong. They could have killed me. The doctor told me it's a miracle that I'm alive," Antonio Moreno said in Spanish.

The attack last Friday afternoon when Moreno and his 12-year-old son went to feed their horses.

"The horse was tied up and my son said to me, 'Dad, a bee is stinging the horse.' I went and untied him and told my son to move away," Moreno recalled.

But soon after that, the bees descended on Moreno and the horses - covering them in a blanket of swarming bees.

"We fled to the street and took the horses with us, but the bees followed us onto the street and kept stinging me," he said.

Moreno went back to get the two other horses still tied up, but he never reached them.

"Everything began to close up, my throat closed up, and my heart felt like it was going to explode," Moreno said. "My chest hurt so much, everything hurt."

Moreno was rescued by the property owner and her boyfriend who witnessed the attack and dragged him into their home. The couple also endured several bee stings.

As Moreno began to lose consciousness, he called his friend Jorge Pinedo.

"He told me to bring a trailer so I can get the horses out, and I showed up right away to get the two horses out," Pinedo said.

CalRiverside firefighters arrived after the property owner called 911. Rescuers in protective gear tried to save the two horses by dousing them in foam to subdue the bees. One horse had already succumbed to the bees' venom. The other horse was still alive but soon fell to the ground and died as rescuers attempted to put her into a trailer.

Moreno and his son were taken to a nearby hospital. The 12-year-old was not seriously injured in the attack, but Moreno was left in critical condition. He says more than 200 stingers were removed from the back of his neck and arms. One bee had to be removed from his ear.

"People need to pay more attention and be careful with bees because they can be dangerous," Moreno said.

Moreno is now home and recovering. His neck and arms baring the wounds left by stingers. He also learned he is allergic to bees and will need to carry an EpiPen.

As for what caused the bees to go on the attack that day, Moreno says he doesn't know. For the last two years, the bees have lived under the shed he stores his horses' food.

"I guess I never paid much attention to it because they never ever did anything," Moreno said. "We never did anything to them."