Former police officer arrested over alleged mass shooting plot at Louisiana festival
Former police officer arrested over alleged mass shooting plot at Louisiana festival
LUKE BARR, IVAN PEREIRA and MATT FOSTERThu, April 23, 2026 at 2:58 PM UTC
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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.
Okaloosa County Sheriff's Office - PHOTO: Christopher Gillum is seen in this undated police handout.
"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.
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When officers arrested Gillum, they recovered a handgun and approximately 200 rounds of ammunition from his hotel room, the sheriff's office alleged.
Okaloosa County Sheriff's Office - PHOTO: Items confiscated from Christopher Gillum during his arrest, April 22, 2026, in Destin, Florida.
Attorney information for the suspect was not immediately available.
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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.
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"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.
Okaloosa County Sheriff's Office - PHOTO: Christopher Gillum is arrested by Okaloosa County Sheriffs, April 22, 2026, in Destin, Florida.
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.
Source: “AOL Money”
