A scourge of killer bees terrorized a California neighborhood over the weekend, attacking people and pets before being contained by what had to be a very brave beekeeper.
The Concord Police Department issued an alert after they received calls about roving aggressive bees in the neighborhood.
The Hitchcockian scene originated on Concord’s Hitchcock Drive, where police say an amateur beekeeper accidentally loosed the swarm on Saturday.
The pests reportedly stung several children and even killed two dogs. A local veterinarian told CNN affiliate KPIX both dogs had more than 50 stingers lodged in their bodies.
The bees were so bent on destruction, a resident was stung on-camera during an interview with the TV station.
A mail carrier said she was set upon by a swarm of bees that flew into her hair and stung her on the top of her head.
One resident’s video of the scene shows especially loud and boisterous bees slamming against a porch screen.
Why do these bees seem so much worse than the puttering, vaguely ominous-type bees humans usually have to tolerate? The keeper who helped contain the bees told KPIX he believes the Concord beasts are Africanized killer bees, which explains their apparently ad hominem attacks.
The police and the homeowner worked together with a local beekeeper to confine the bees, and by Sunday morning an updated police alert reported a “significantly reduced” number of bees in the area.