Florida authorities have arrested a North Carolina man who allegedly planned to carry out a mass shooting at a New Orleans festival and then be killed by police, an arrest that came just as the city’s Jazz & Heritage Festival was set to open.
The Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Office identified the suspect as Christopher Gillum of Chapel Hill, North Carolina. He was taken into custody Wednesday evening without incident at a hotel on Scenic Highway 98 in Destin, Florida, after federal authorities tipped off local law enforcement that he was believed to be in their jurisdiction.
Investigators located Mr. Gillum using the county’s Flock license plate camera system and recovered a handgun and approximately 200 rounds of ammunition from his hotel room. He is wanted in Orleans Parish on a charge of terroristic threats and is being held in the Okaloosa County Jail pending extradition to Louisiana.
“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 in a statement.
Authorities did not publicly identify which festival Mr. Gillum allegedly intended to target. The New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival began Thursday, the day after his arrest. Jazz Fest issued a statement saying it coordinates closely with the FBI, Louisiana State Police, the New Orleans Police Department and other agencies and said it looks forward to “another safe and joyful Jazz Fest.”
ABC11 reported that Mr. Gillum previously served as a Chapel Hill police officer from 2004 to 2019 and briefly returned to the department in 2024 as a nonsworn employee before leaving for another position. That detail has not been independently confirmed.
New Orleans Mayor Helena Moreno praised law enforcement’s response without disclosing specifics about the case. “This level of coordination extended to law enforcement agencies in multiple states from North Carolina to Florida,” Ms. Moreno said. “This is where urgent collaboration and cooperation pays off.”
Louisiana State Police confirmed Thursday that a suspect was arrested as part of an ongoing investigation with the FBI and said there were no known remaining threats to any Louisiana festivals.
This article was constructed with the assistance of artificial intelligence and published by a member of The Washington Times’ AI News Desk team. The contents of this report are based solely on The Washington Times’ original reporting, wire services, and/or other sources cited within the report. For more information, please read our AI policy or contact Steve Fink, Director of Artificial Intelligence, at sfink@washingtontimes.com
The Washington Times AI Ethics Newsroom Committee can be reached at aispotlight@washingtontimes.com.
