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Incident Record

69-year-old Vietnam veteran Robert Zamarripa stung 200+ times while mowing near storage shed, collapses in RV

Robert Zamarripa was mowing his front yard without incident, then began feeling stings near his backyard storage shed. Struck by escalating pain, he sprayed himself with a hose (ineffective), then ran into his RV where his sister was, and collapsed. His sister's attempts to revive him failed before EMS arrived.

Record ID: TX-CAMERON-2026-04XX
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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 Apr-26
Location La Feria, TX, Cameron County, TX
State TX
Record Type Attack / Stinging Incident
Trigger / Activity Mowing / Yard Work
Severity Hospitalized - Critical
Bee ID Status Confirmed Africanized (per bee removal expert Jimmy Lawrence quoted in same article)
Aggression Classification Severe defensive attack

Incident Summary

Robert Zamarripa was mowing his front yard without incident, then began feeling stings near his backyard storage shed. Struck by escalating pain, he sprayed himself with a hose (ineffective), then ran into his RV where his sister was, and collapsed. His sister's attempts to revive him failed before EMS arrived.

Public-Safety Lesson

First La Feria, TX record. Recent (2026), well-sourced with named victim and expert quote on RGV's current bee-attack rate.

Impact Flags

Human Fatality No
Human Hospitalized Yes
Animal Fatality No
Responder Involved Yes - EMS (911 call)

Source Information

Source: MyRGV.com

Source Strength: B - Established Local News (MyRGV/The Monitor/Brownsville Herald), named victim