Edgar Maddison Welch, the “Pizzagate” gunman and conspiracy theorist who fired shots in a Washington, D.C., pizza parlor in 2016, died on Monday after North Carolina police fatally shot him when he pulled a gun on officers, the Kannapolis Police Department (KPD) announced Thursday.
Welch, 36, who was acting on a debunked conspiracy theory nine years ago, was shot during a police traffic stop over the weekend and succumbed to his injuries two days later, KPD said.
Why It Matters
Welch made headlines nearly a decade ago when he walked into Comet Ping Pong with an AR-15 rifle and a revolver and fired inside the restaurant. He was an avid QAnon follower and believed, without evidence, that the pizza shop was home to a pedophile sex-trafficking ring.
Police said at the time that Welch had gone to the restaurant to “self-investigate” the conspiracy theory. He pleaded guilty in 2017 to assault with a dangerous weapon and interstate transport of a firearm.
What To Know
KPD said Welch was shot on Sunday night after an officer recognized his car, a gray 2001 GMC Yukon. Welch’s car was recognized by the officer, KPD said, because it was “one normally driven by an individual who he had previously arrested, and knew had an outstanding warrant for arrest.”…