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An Arkansas man was arrested after allegedly threatening to carry out a mass shooting at his local Walmart if the country went into lockdown over the hantavirus outbreak, authorities said.
Aaron Bynum, 20, of Oakland, was arrested Friday for allegedly making threats, according to the Marion County Sheriff’s Office.
He was charged with first-degree harassing communications and terroristic threats.
Authorities said the arrest followed an investigation into online threats allegedly made by Bynum on May 9.
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Authorities arrested an Arkansas man accused of threatening a shooting at Walmart related to hantavirus shutdown fears. (Marion County Sheriff’s Office; iStock)
The FBI’s National Threat Operations Center received an electronic tip from an individual playing an online video game who alleged that another player threatened to carry out a mass shooting at a local Walmart “if the country went into lockdown again due to Hantavirus.”
Authorities said the reporting individual provided the player’s username along with a gameplay recording of the alleged threats.
Investigators said they subpoenaed the game’s parent company, which identified Bynum as the account owner.
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Aaron Bynum, 20, was arrested after allegedly threatening to carry out a mass shooting at a Walmart if the country went into another lockdown over concerns about the hantavirus, authorities said. (Marion County Sheriff’s Office)
The FBI’s Fayetteville field office alerted the Marion County Sheriff’s Office and authorities executed a search warrant at Bynum’s residence on Friday.
Investigators said they seized Bynum’s computer and related accessories.
Authorities said Bynum was taken into custody without incident and booked into the Marion County Detention Center on a $2,500 bond.
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Authorities said an Arkansas man threatened to carry out a mass shooting at a local Walmart. (a stranger)
The hantavirus outbreak linked to the MV Hondius cruise ship sickened several people aboard the ship, and the WHO reported on May 13 that all cases identified then were passengers.
As of May 13, the World Health Organization said 11 cases had been identified in connection with the outbreak, including eight confirmed cases, two probable cases and one inconclusive case. Three deaths have also been linked to the outbreak, and the WHO assessed the risk to the global population as low.
Canadian health officials confirmed Sunday that one of the four Canadians who returned from the MV Honda tested positive for the virus. The Associated Press reported that the Canadian case brought the number of confirmed infections linked to the ship to 10, updating the WHO’s previous count from May 13.
While the outbreak has drawn comparisons to the coronavirus pandemic, Fox News senior medical analyst Dr. Marc Siegel previously told Fox News Digital that “there’s no comparison,” noting that the hantavirus is difficult to spread.
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The CDC says Andesvirus, the strain confirmed in the MV Hondius outbreak, is the only hantavirus that has been documented to spread from person to person, although such transmission is rare and usually requires close, prolonged contact with a symptomatic person.
“It’s not airborne… in terms of respiratory droplets floating in the air,” he said. “It’s very difficult to convey.”
Fox News Digital’s Angelica Stabile contributed to this report.