An Arkansas man has been arrested for allegedly threatening to shoot at a Walmart
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An Arkansas man has been arrested after allegedly threatening to shoot multiple people at his local Walmart if the state shuts down due to the hantavirus outbreak, authorities said.
Aaron Bynum, 20, of Oakland, was arrested Friday on suspicion of making threats, according to the Marion County Sheriff’s Office.
He was charged with terroristic communications and harassment.
Officials say the arrest follows an investigation into online threats allegedly made by Bynum on May 9.
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Authorities have arrested an Arkansas man accused of threatening a Walmart shooting that has been tied to fears of a hantavirus shutdown. (Marion County Sheriff’s Office; Stock)
The FBI’s National Threat Operations Center received an electronic tip from an online video gamer alleging another player threatened to shoot a mass of people at a local Walmart “if the country shuts down again because of the Hantavirus.”
Authorities said the whistleblower provided the player’s username and in-game recordings of the alleged threats.
Investigators said they called 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 shoot more people at Walmart if the country went into another lockdown over hantavirus concerns, authorities said. (Marion County Sheriff’s Office)
The FBI’s Fayetteville Field Office then notified the Marion County Sheriff’s Office, and authorities executed a search warrant at Bynum’s residence on Friday.
Investigators say they seized Bynum’s computer and other related items.
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 say an Arkansas man threatened to shoot multiple people at a local Walmart. (unknown)
An outbreak of hantavirus tied to the MV Hondius ship sickened many people on board, and the WHO reported as of May 13 that all cases identified at the time were passengers.
As of May 13, the World Health Organization said 11 cases have been identified in connection with the outbreak, including eight confirmed cases, two probable cases and one incomplete case. Three deaths have been linked to the outbreak, and the WHO has assessed the risk to the world’s population as low.
Canadian health officials on Sunday confirmed that one of the four Canadians returning from MV Hondius he was diagnosed with the virus. The Associated Press reported that the Canadian case brought the number of confirmed cases on the ship to 10, updating the WHO’s previous count from May 13.
While the outbreak has sparked comparisons to the coronavirus pandemic, Fox News senior medical analyst Dr. Marc Siegel previously told Fox News Digital that “there is no comparison,” noting that hantavirus is difficult to spread.
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The CDC says Andes virus, the strain confirmed in the MV Hondius outbreak, is the only hantavirus documented to spread from person to person, although this transmission is rare and usually requires close, prolonged contact with a person with symptoms.
“It’s not airborne … it’s about respiratory droplets hanging in the air,” he said. “It’s very difficult to convey.”
Fox News Digital’s Angelica Stabile contributed to this report.
