An Arkansas man has been arrested after allegedly threatening to carry out a mass shooting at a Walmart if the hantavirus outbreak leads to a nationwide shutdown.
Aaron Keith Bynum was taken into custody Friday by Marion County Sheriff's deputies on charges of making terroristic threats, a felony, and harassing communications, a misdemeanor, according to law enforcement.
The threat was reportedly made while Bynum was playing an online game. The FBI received a tip about the comments and traced the user's online handle, then subpoenaed the game's developer to confirm Bynum's identity.
Local deputies executed a search warrant at Bynum's home, seizing his computer and arresting him. He is being held at the Marion County Detention Center on $2,500 bail.
The incident comes amid a hantavirus outbreak linked to a cruise ship, the MV Hondius, which has resulted in three deaths and 11 hospitalizations since April.