'Law & Order: SVU' Season 18 spoilers, air date: Lt. Benson and team to hunt for mass casualty suspects in premiere

After a long wait, the next season of NBC's legal-drama series "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit" is all set to return this month. The network has recently revealed the official synopsis of the premiere episode that hints at Lt. Olivia Benson and her team investigating a crucial case of mass casualty suspects who are on a run.

The synopsis of premiere episode, titled "Terrorized", reads: "A young boy is found wandering alone in Central Park and the search for his parents leads to startling evidence of a planned mass casualty event in the city."

Benson, along with SVU, will be working with the joint-terrorism task force to find the whereabouts of the escaped suspects who planned several terrorism activities in New York City. Besides it, she also has to convince Assistant District Attorney Barba (portrayed by Raúl Esparza) to look into the matter of the boy who was allegedly raped and tortured, as revealed by his grieving mother.

Also Read: 'Law & Order: SVU' Season 18 air date, spoilers: Elliot returns, will it disrupt Olivia-Ed relationship?

In the meanwhile, one of the prominent characters from the previous seasons of "SVU" might be returning in Season 18. Though it is not yet confirmed by any of the official sources, Christopher Meloni's character of Elliot Stabler is rumoured to make a comeback with the next season.

Elliot will be back in the show to revive his relationship with Benson. However, it might not go as he plans it to be as currently, Benson is in a relationship with Captain Ed Tucker and there is a significant possibility that Elliot's return will surely cause tension between the three characters.

"Law & Order: Special Victims Unit" Season 18 is scheduled to air on Sept. 21 on NBC.