An Arkansas resident faced arrest for allegedly threatening a mass shooting at a local Walmart, contingent upon a national lockdown due to the hantavirus outbreak. The Marion County Sheriff’s Office confirmed the arrest of 20-year-old Aaron Bynum from Oakland on Friday.
Bynum was charged with first-degree terroristic threatening and harassing communications. The arrest stemmed from threats reportedly made online on May 9, according to officials.
The arrest followed an investigation into threats made online by Aaron Bynum.
The FBI’s National Threat Operations Center received a report from an individual involved in an online video game. The individual claimed that another player threatened a mass shooting at a local Walmart “if the country were locked down again due to the Hantavirus.” The gamer provided the suspect’s username and an in-game recording of the alleged threats.
Investigators subpoenaed the game’s parent company, confirming Bynum as the account owner. Following this, the FBI’s Fayetteville Field Office alerted local authorities, leading to the execution of a search warrant at Bynum’s residence.
The Marion County Sheriff’s Office reported the seizure of Bynum’s computer and related accessories. Bynum was arrested without incident and held at the Marion County Detention Center with a bond set at $2,500.
The hantavirus outbreak, linked to the MV Hondius cruise ship, resulted in multiple infections. According to the World Health Organization, by May 13, 11 cases had been identified, including eight confirmed, two probable and one inconclusive case. There were three deaths associated with the outbreak, but WHO considered the global risk low.
Canada confirmed one positive case among four citizens returning from the MV Hondius, bringing the ship-related confirmed infections to 10, updating earlier WHO data.
Despite comparisons to COVID-19, Dr. Marc Siegel, a Fox News medical analyst, emphasized that hantavirus is significantly less transmissible. It primarily spreads from person to person through close and prolonged contact with someone exhibiting symptoms, and not through airborne transmission.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention noted that the Andes virus, the strain linked to the MV Hondius outbreak, is the only hantavirus strain known to spread between people, although such transmissions are rare.