DESTIN, Fla. (WVUE/Gray News) – Authorities say a former North Carolina officer accused of plotting a mass shooting in New Orleans was arrested at a Florida hotel with a handgun and about 200 rounds of ammunition.

Christopher Gillum was taken into custody Wednesday evening at a hotel in Destin, according to the Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Office.

Authorities said Gillum was wanted in Louisiana from the Orleans Parish on a terroristic threats charge.

According to investigators, they received information that he was planning to travel to a festival in New Orleans to carry out a mass shooting and then commit “suicide by cop.”

The sheriff’s office said deputies recovered the gun and ammunition from Gillum’s hotel room. He was booked into the Okaloosa County jail pending extradition to Louisiana.

Gillum’s family reported him missing on Tuesday while saying he had a history of self-harm, according to Lt. Clint Lyons, with the Alamance County Sheriff’s Office in North Carolina.

Additionally, North Carolina authorities said Gillum’s family also told them that he had a gun and “expressed recent threats to harm Black people.”

Gillum is a former Chapel Hill police officer. Officials said he served as an officer there from 2004 to 2019, before resigning

Records show Gillum also worked for the Orange County Sheriff’s Office. A spokesperson said he was hired as a detention officer in 2023 and later as a deputy in 2025 before putting in his resignation.

Authorities have not publicly identified the festival Gillum was allegedly targeting. But the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival, which begins Thursday, sent a statement after the arrest.

“As always, we coordinate closely with the FBI, Louisiana State Police, NOPD, NOCEM and other agencies,” the festival shared. “We look forward to another safe and joyful Jazz Fest.”