Former police officer arrested for allegedly planning mass shooting at New Orleans festival
(CNN) — A former police officer and sheriff’s deputy was arrested in Florida on Wednesday after authorities found information suggesting he planned a mass shooting at a festival in New Orleans, according to the Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Office.
Christopher Gillum of Chapel Hill, North Carolina, is wanted in Orleans Parish on a charge of making terroristic threats. “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.
Police in Burlington, North Carolina, sent an initial alert saying the family indicated Gillum had a Glock handgun and had expressed interest in harming Black people, according to a law enforcement official.
Gillum was a law enforcement officer in North Carolina for more than a decade. He was a police officer in Chapel Hill between 2004 and 2019, when he resigned. He returned to the police department as a non-sworn employee in 2024 before leaving for another job by the end of that year, Alex Carrasquillo, communications manager for the Town of Chapel Hill, told CNN.
He joined the Orange County Sheriff’s Office as a detention officer in October 2023 and left the job in July 2024. He was hired in January of last year as deputy but resigned in September, Alicia Stemper, communications manager for the Orange County Sheriff’s Office, told CNN.
Authorities did not say which festival Gillum allegedly intended to target, but the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival, known as Jazz Fest, begins today and runs through May 3. The festival, founded in 1970, draws roughly 400,000 attendees each year. CNN has reached out to festival organizers for comment.
Matthew Goldman, press and advertising director for Jazz Fest, said organizers were “grateful to all law enforcement partners for their dedication and exceptional service in protecting our community” in a statement to CNN affiliate WVUE sent after the arrest.
Gillum was taken into custody without incident Wednesday evening at a hotel in Destin, Florida, after the Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Office learned he was in the area through the county’s Flock camera system, the sheriff’s office said.
Deputies recovered a handgun and about 200 rounds of ammunition from Gillum’s hotel room, the sheriff’s office said. Gillum is being held in the Okaloosa County Jail pending extradition to Louisiana.
Louisiana State Police said it is investigating the case in coordination with the FBI, and declined to share more details “to avoid compromising the investigation.”
“At this time, there are no known direct threats to any festivals in Louisiana,” Louisiana State Police Sgt. Ross Brennan said in a statement.
New Orleans Mayor Helena Moreno did not discuss details about Gillum’s arrest, which her office described as “the arrest of a potential threat suspect in Florida,” but praised the “tremendous coordination” by law enforcement agencies.
“This level of coordination extended to law enforcement agencies in multiple states from North Carolina to Florida. This is where urgent collaboration and cooperation pays off,” Moreno said in a statement.
The New Orleans Police Department and the Orleans Parish Sheriff’s Office referred questions to state police and the FBI. CNN has reached out to the FBI for comment.
Okaloosa County Sheriff Eric Aden said Wednesday’s arrest, “highlights how technology like FLOCK and strong partnerships between agencies can help prevent potential violence and bring wanted fugitives into custody safely before a tragedy could occur.”
The flagship product of Flock, an Atlanta-based safety technology company, is an outdoor camera referred to as “LPR” camera. The device can read license plates and identify other details about vehicles as they drive by. Around 6,000 law enforcement agencies across the United States use LPRs and the company’s AI system allows them to search its network of footage for a specific car.
New Orleans had upped its public safety measures over the past year, following a terror attack on Bourbon Street that killed 14 people during New Year’s Eve celebrations. This weekend’s Jazz Fest will be held at the Fair Grounds Race Course & Slots, about 2.5 miles from Bourbon Street and the city’s French Quarter.
That attack raised questions about how the city secured Bourbon Street and how a heavy-duty truck was able to drive onto one of the most pedestrian-heavy roads in the nation. A report released by the New Orleans Police and Justice Foundation recommended most of Bourbon Street should be closed off to vehicles, creating a permanent pedestrian plaza.
This story has been updated with additional information.
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CNN’s Jeremy Grisham and Clare Duffy contributed to this reporting.
