Former police officer arrested over alleged mass shooting plot at Louisiana festival
A former police officer who allegedly was traveling to Louisiana to conduct a mass shooting at a large festival was arrested Wednesday night in a Florida hotel where investigators found a gun and nearly 200 rounds of ammunition, authorities said.
Christopher Gillum, of Chapel Hill, North Carolina, was wanted by the Louisiana Department of Public Safety "for terroristic threats" and was arrested at a hotel in Destin, Florida, the Okaloosa County Sheriff's Office said in a statement Thursday.
"Authorities obtained information Gillum planned to travel to a festival in New Orleans to conduct a mass shooting and then commit suicide by cop," the sheriff's office said.
When officers arrested Gillum, they recovered a handgun and approximately 200 rounds of ammunition from his hotel room, the sheriff's office alleged.
Attorney information for the suspect was not immediately available.
Gillum was a Chapel Hill Police officer from 2004 until 2019, when he resigned, a spokesman for the town of Chapel Hill said in a statement.
"He returned as a non-sworn employee in 2024 before leaving for another job by the end of that year," Alex Carrasquillo, the town's spokesman, said in a statement.
Gillum was named Officer of the Month in June 2025 by the Orange County North Carolina's Sheriff's office, according to a social media post that was confirmed by ABC affiliate WTVD.
The post applauded Gillum's work in apprehending an alleged gas station robbery suspect.
"Gillum located a single latent fingerprint on a coffee cup used by the robber just before committing the crime. This print allowed us to identify and arrest the suspect when security footage did not capture usable images. Well done, Deputy Gillum!" the post said.
Gillum was being held in a Florida jail and awaiting extradition to Louisiana, the sheriff's office said.
The Louisiana State Police did not say which festival the suspect was allegedly targeting, but said in a statement Thursday that "there are no known direct threats to any festivals in Louisiana."
The state police will be conducting the ongoing investigation with the FBI, according to the department. The FBI also reiterated that there are no known direct threats to any festivals scheduled in Louisiana.
"Excellent work by Louisiana State Police and the FBI as part of their Joint Terrorism Task Force on this case," Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill said in a statement to ABC News.
