The man who entered a D.C. pizzeria with an assault rifle to investigate the “Pizzagate” conspiracy theory in 2016 was killed by police in North Carolina earlier this month.
The Kannapolis Police Department said Thursday its officers shot and killed Edgar Maddison Welch, 36, of Salisbury, North Carolina, after he pulled a gun on them during a traffic stop on Jan. 4.
According to police, Welch had an outstanding warrant, and when officers opened the door to arrest him, he pulled out a handgun and pointed it at police. At that point, police said they repeatedly told Welch to drop the weapon, and after he failed to do so, officers shot him.
Welch was taken to a hospital, where he died Monday.
In December 2016, Welch entered Comet Ping Pong on Connecticut Avenue NW with an assault rifle and revolver and shot into a door.
Nobody was injured in the incident, but police said Welch pointed the AR-15-style rifle at an employee and that the incident sparked chaos and fear inside the restaurant.
According to prosecutors, Welch was motivated, at least partly, by the debunked “Pizzagate” conspiracy, which erroneously connected several restaurants, including Comet Ping Pong, to a child sex ring.
Court documents stated Welch texted a friend asking whether he had any Army buddies nearby and whether they were “down for the cause,” which included “raiding a pedo ring,” and possibly sacrificing “the lives of a few for the lives of many.”
Welch pleaded guilty in March 2017 to a federal charge of interstate transportation of a firearm and ammunition and a D.C. charge of assault with a dangerous weapon in connection to the shooting.
He was sentenced to four years in prison.
The shooting death of Welch, a resident of Salisbury, North Carolina, is under review by the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation, and the officers who fired at him are on administrative leave, per the department’s protocol.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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