Arkansas Man Arrested for Threatening Mass Shooting Over Hantavirus Lockdown Concerns

An Arkansas resident, Aaron Bynum, age 20, was arrested on suspicion of threatening a mass shooting at his local Walmart should a hantavirus-related lockdown occur in the U.S., according to local authorities. The Marion County Sheriff’s Office confirmed Bynum’s arrest last Friday, following an investigation into online threats he allegedly made on May 9.

Bynum faces charges of first-degree terroristic threatening and harassing communications. The arrest stemmed from an electronic tip received by the FBI’s National Threat Operations Center. A player in an online video game reported that another player, later identified as Bynum, threatened to commit a mass shooting at a nearby Walmart if a lockdown was imposed due to the hantavirus.

Authorities obtained the game player’s username and an in-game recording of the threats. Investigators then issued a subpoena to identify Bynum as the account owner. The FBI’s Fayetteville Field Office informed the Marion County Sheriff’s Office. A search warrant was then executed at Bynum’s residence, leading to the seizure of his computer and related equipment.

Bynum was detained without incident and is held at the Marion County Detention Center on a $2,500 bond.

The threat was linked to concerns about the hantavirus outbreak connected to the MV Hondius cruise ship, which has resulted in several illnesses on board. As of May 13, the World Health Organization reported 11 cases related to the outbreak, including eight confirmed, two probable, and one inconclusive case, with three deaths associated with the virus.

Canadian health authorities verified that one of four Canadians returning from the MV Hondius tested positive, raising the confirmed infection count to 10, as reported by the Associated Press.

In the context of the outbreak, Dr. Marc Siegel, Fox News senior medical analyst, remarked that hantavirus lacks the ease of spread seen in pandemics like COVID-19. The Andes virus strain involved in the outbreak is rare in terms of person-to-person transmission, requiring close and extended contact with a symptomatic individual. Dr. Siegel clarified that it is not airborne via respiratory droplets.