Former North Carolina police officer arrested for allegedly planning mass shooting at New Orleans festival

A erstwhile North Carolina constabulary serviceman was arrested successful Florida aft authorities said helium planned a wide shooting astatine a New Orleans euphony festival.

Christopher Gillum, 45, of Chapel Hill, North Carolina, was taken into custody astir 6:40 p.m. Wednesday astatine a edifice successful Destin, Florida, the Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Office said.

Authorities said Gillum was wanted for making "terroristic threats" and was believed to beryllium traveling to a festival successful New Orleans to "conduct a wide shooting."

Investigators recovered a handgun and astir 200 rounds of ammunition from his edifice room.

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Authorities said they tracked and arrested a fishy astatine a Florida edifice aft learning of an alleged program to transportation retired a wide shooting astatine a New Orleans event. (Okaloosa County Sheriff's Office)

Gillum’s household reported him missing Tuesday, telling authorities helium had a past of self-harm and had made threats to harm "Black people," according to a constabulary bulletin from Burlington, North Carolina.

Lt. Clint Lyons of the Alamance County Sheriff’s Office said Gillum near the authorities earlier authorities could initiate an involuntary commitment, adding determination were nary ineligible grounds to detain him astatine the time.

Earlier Wednesday, Gillum had been stopped by instrumentality enforcement successful Okaloosa County but was released due to the fact that helium did not conscionable criteria for apprehension oregon commitment, according to the bulletin.

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Authorities arrested a erstwhile North Carolina constabulary serviceman successful Florida aft investigators said helium planned a wide shooting astatine a New Orleans euphony festival, officials said. (Okaloosa County Sheriff's Office)

Deputies aboriginal conducted surveillance aft learning helium was nether probe and arrested him erstwhile a warrant was issued from Louisiana, authorities said.

Gillum is expected to beryllium extradited to Louisiana to look charges, the sheriff’s bureau said.

Authorities did not sanction the event, but the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival — known arsenic Jazz Fest — runs done May 3 and draws hundreds of thousands of attendees annually. Louisiana State Police said "there are nary known nonstop threats" to immoderate festivals successful the state.

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A erstwhile constabulary serviceman was taken into custody successful Florida aft authorities said they recovered a handgun and hundreds of rounds of ammunition successful transportation with an alleged crippled targeting a New Orleans festival. (Okaloosa County Sheriff's Office)

Gillum served arsenic a sworn constabulary serviceman successful Chapel Hill from 2004 until his resignation successful 2019, according to a municipality spokesperson.

He aboriginal worked arsenic a constabulary serviceman successful Carolina Beach from October 2019 to October 2020, past became a detention serviceman with the Orange County, North Carolina, Sheriff’s Office successful October 2023, leaving successful July 2024.

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A handgun and ammunition recovered from a Florida edifice country are shown aft authorities arrested a fishy successful transportation with an alleged crippled targeting a New Orleans festival, officials said. (Okaloosa County Sheriff's Office)

Gillum returned to the Chapel Hill Police Department arsenic a non-sworn worker successful 2024 earlier leaving aboriginal that year. He was rehired arsenic an Orange County sheriff’s lawman successful January 2025 but resigned that September.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.