A man from the town of Oakland, in Marion County Arkansas, was arrested after allegedly making threats of a mass shooting if the country were locked down due to hantavirus.
According to the Marion County Sheriff’s Office, Aaron Keith Bynum (20) was arrested on charges of 1st degree Terroristic Threatening and Harassing Communications. The arrest stems from an investigation into online threats.
This began with the FBI’s National Threats Operation Center receiving an electronic tip that an online multiplayer game had threatened a mass shooting at the local Walmart if the country were locked down by a hantavirus scare.
Hantavirus is a rare and potentially deadly disease associated with rodents. Cases of hantavirus are very rare and as a rule not transmissible from person to person.
On May 11th a subpoena was issued to the parent company of the game identifying Bynum as the account owner.
On May 13th the FBI Fayetteville Field Office contacted the Marion County Sheriff’s Office and passed the information to the Criminal Investigation Division.
On May 14th investigators submitted and received a search warrant for Bynum’s home along with a Probable Cause affidavit for his arrest. The following day, Bynum was taken into custody.
His bond is set at $2500.00.
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