A disgruntled Arkansas man was arrested on Friday for threatening to shoot up a Walmart if America goes into a hantavirus lockdown.
The arrest of Aaron Keith Bynum, 20, came after the FBI’s National Threats Operations Center received an electronic tip about his statements from another online gamer.
The tip said that an online gamer since identified as Bynum “had threatened a mass shooting at his local Walmart if the country were locked down again due to the Hantavirus,” according to apress releasefrom the Marion County Sheriff’s Office.
The tipster handed over the gamer’s username and an in-game recording of his threat, providing the authorities with what they needed to subpoena thegaming companyfor more information about the gamer’s profile, including his name.
20 Year Old Arrested for Threatening Walmart Shooting Over Hantavirus Lockdown Fears.
Aaron Keith Bynum made the threat while gaming online; another player recorded it and alerted the FBI same day. He’s now in custody.pic.twitter.com/YO1wWZuFWN
— TaraBull (@TaraBull)May 18, 2026
The FBI subsequently passed their intel on to the Marion County Sheriff’s Office, which in turn obtained a search warrant for Bynum’s address and a probable cause affidavit for his arrest.
During Bynum’s arrest, the authorities seized his computer and computer accessories. He was booked into the Marion County Detention Center with a bond of $2,500.00 on one count of Terroristic Threatening 1st Degree, a Class “D” Felony, and one count of Harassing Communications, a Class “A” Misdemeanor.
His threat and arrest comes amid arecent outbreakof Hantavirus aboard a cruise ship that was traveling in the South Atlantic Ocean. Passengers of the ship have since returned home, prompting fear from the public.
Source: VidNews » Feed
