WACO (May 18, 2009)-A 74-year-old Waco man was attacked and stung by hundreds of bees while he was mowing grass.

Harold Braun was treated by medical personnel from the Southwest Region of the East Texas Medical Center and later taken to Hillcrest Hospital after he was stung an estimated 200 times.

Braun has been living with his sister at a residence on the Old Marlin Highway and was in the yard mowing grass on a lawn tractor when the drone of the mower’s motor apparently aggravated a large swarm of bees that had nested above the home’s outside electric meter.

Braun told ambulance personnel he first tried to cover his face with his shirt and then ran to his truck to try to escape the swarm, but that proved futile.

Ambulance attendants removed 153 stingers from Braun’s body at the scene and because of his age they took him for further treatment and evaluation at Hillcrest.

Braun called his nephew by cell phone as the attack was happening and was screaming for help.

First responders told the victims family it is very possible the bees were the Africanized form of honeybees.

Their exact species will be determined by tests at Texas A&M, where a sample of the insects have been sent.

An exterminator from McGregor called to the site gave his opinion Monday shortly after 3:30pm Monday that the bees are in fact Africanized bees.

They are a hybrid breed of the common European honeybees, and the more aggressive species of African bees, also known as killer bees.

That exterminator killed the bees in the nest, but it will take up to 3 days for the poison to spread to all the bees that may be out gathering pollen and will return later.

Police said the bees were contained back in their hive and they pose no danger to neighbors as long as they are not disturbed.

Family of the victim say they are very grateful for the quick response of both the Waco police officers and the East Texas Regional Ambulance staff who responded, and not only helped treat the elderly victim, but helped get the remaining swarm of bees off of him.

As of 3:30pm, his family says his status was stable at Hillcrest Hospital.