An Arkansas man was detained after allegedly threatening a mass shooting at his local Walmart if a national lockdown occurred due to the hantavirus outbreak, as reported by authorities.
Aaron Bynum, a 20-year-old from Oakland, was arrested on Friday. He faces charges of first-degree terroristic threatening and harassing communications, according to the Marion County Sheriff’s Office.
Bynum’s arrest followed a reported investigation into online threats he allegedly made on May 9. The FBI’s National Threat Operations Center received a tip from someone playing an online video game. This individual reported another player threatened a shooting at a local Walmart if a hantavirus-related lockdown ensued.
The informant provided both the gamer’s username and an in-game recording of the purported threats. Investigators subpoenaed the parent company of the game, which identified Bynum as the account owner.
The FBI’s Fayetteville Field Office notified the Marion County Sheriff’s Office. Authorities executed a search warrant at Bynum’s home, seizing his computer and related equipment. Bynum was then taken into custody without incident and booked at the Marion County Detention Center with a $2,500 bond.
Authorities arrested an Arkansas man after threats of a mass shooting in Walmart over hantavirus fears. – Marion County Sheriff’s Office
This incident ties to a hantavirus outbreak aboard the MV Hondius cruise ship, where multiple individuals fell ill. As of May 13, the World Health Organization had reported 11 cases connected to the outbreak, including eight confirmed and two probable cases, with three linked deaths. The WHO has assessed the global risk from this outbreak as low.
Canadian health officials confirmed one of four Canadians returning from the MV Hondius tested positive, raising confirmed infections related to the ship to 10, according to the Associated Press, updating the earlier WHO count from May 13.
Comparisons have emerged between this outbreak and the coronavirus pandemic. However, Dr. Marc Siegel, a senior medical analyst, stated there is no comparison. Hantavirus spreads with difficulty and requires close, prolonged contact.
The CDC indicates that the Andes virus, responsible for the MV Hondius outbreak, is the only hantavirus strain known to transmit between people, though such transmission remains rare and requires prolonged contact.
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