Off-duty firefighter saves New Mexico man from a swarm of 15,000 BEES that flew into his car through open window
- The Albertson’s shopper returned to their car around 4pm on Sunday afternoon
- After beginning to drive away, they discovered thousands of bees in the car
- Off-duty firefighter Jesse Johnson was called to the scene because he’s a part-time beekeeper and was able to relocate all of the bees to his own property
- Only one person – the store’s security guard – was stung during the incident
A swarm of bees came after a New Mexico shopper on Sunday after he left his car window down during a grocery store run.
Shortly after 4pm on Sunday, firefighters in Las Cruces responded to reports of a swarm of bees in a car at an Albertson’s grocery store, as the fire department shared on Facebook.
The car’s owner was shopping and when he returned to the car with his groceries, he proceeded to drive off before the bee swarm made itself evident, according to the Fire Department.
Approximately 15,000 bees swarmed a car outside of Albertson’s in Las Cruces on Sunday
Off-duty firefighter Jesse Johnson, who is also a beekeeper, was able to remove the bees
It’s unclear where the bees came from or why they decided to attack this particular unidentified shopper.
It’s also not clear how he summoned help, but the sight of 15,000 bees buzzing around might have tipped someone off that he needed help.
Firefighters blocked off the area around the car, which appears to be a 1990s-model Buick Century, to protect others before calling in an off-duty firefighter who is a beekeeper during his spare time.
Jesse Johnson used a hive kit and lemongrass oil to help lure the estimated 15,000 bees out of the vehicle.
They were relocated to Johnson’s property, which is located outside of Las Cruces.
Firefighters were on scene for almost two hours while Johnson worked to remove and relocate the bees.
Remarkably, only one person – a security guard at the grocery store – was stung, with no major injuries reported.
Johnson relocated the bees to his own property, which took under two hours to do
‘The Las Cruces Fire Department does not regularly remove bee swarms,’ the Fire Department said on Facebook.
‘However, to mitigate the mid-afternoon hazard the large swarm presented in a relatively high-traffic area, firefighters determined the best remedy was to have the swarm removed and relocated swiftly.’
Several years ago, a swarm of bees attacked another resident of Las Cruces in their car.
The Las Cruces Fire Department revealed the crazy incident on Facebook after it happened
‘It was a huge swarm of bees,’ Seth Gillette told the Las Cruces Sun-News in May 2017. ‘It was loud and the craziest thing I’d ever seen.’
Gillette’s brother was stung by one of the bees before they were able to roll up the windows of the car.
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