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Incident Record

Three Artesia police officers, one Eddy County sheriff’s deputy, and two civilians reportedly attacked by bees

A regional article states that bee attacks had been reported in Carlsbad, Artesia, and Portales in 2005, and that bees attacked three Artesia police officers, one Eddy County sheriff’s deputy, and two civilians on a Thursday according to an AP report.

Record ID: NM-EDDY-2005-0915
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This record is part of a first-pass incident research dataset. Records, categories, and source notes may be updated as additional information is reviewed and verified.
Date 9/15/2005
Location Artesia, NM, Eddy County, NM
State NM
Record Type Candidate / Needs Review
Trigger / Activity Responder / Public Safety Response
Severity Responder Involved
Bee ID Status Suspected Africanized
Aggression Classification Defensive colony / possible Africanized bee incident

Incident Summary

A regional article states that bee attacks had been reported in Carlsbad, Artesia, and Portales in 2005, and that bees attacked three Artesia police officers, one Eddy County sheriff’s deputy, and two civilians on a Thursday according to an AP report.

Public-Safety Lesson

Responder-involved bee incidents should be tracked even when injury details are incomplete because police, deputies, firefighters, EMS, and bystanders may be exposed after a colony is disturbed.

Impact Flags

Human Fatality No
Human Hospitalized Unknown
Animal Fatality No
Responder Involved Yes

Source Information

Source: The Eastern New Mexico News citing AP report

Source Strength: C