The gunman involved in the 2016 attack on a pizza restaurant in Washington, D.C., which was inaccurately thought to be the center of a pedophile ring due to the Pizzagate conspiracy theory, was shot and killed by police during a traffic stop in North Carolina. and died.
In a news release issued Thursday, the Kannapolis Police Department in North Carolina said Edgar Madison Welch suffered injuries from shots fired by two officers after he pulled out a handgun during a traffic stop on Saturday. It was announced that he had died.
In 2016, Welch made headlines after driving from his home in North Carolina into the Washington, D.C.-based Comet Ping Pong restaurant and firing an assault rifle inside. No injuries were reported, but two weapons were found inside the restaurant and another was recovered from Welch’s car, police said at the time.
Police said Welch came to the restaurant to conduct a “voluntary investigation” into Pizzagate. Pizzagate is a baseless conspiracy theory that falsely claims that Hillary Clinton and her campaign manager John Podesta are running an underground child sex trafficking ring from the back rooms of their restaurants.
In 2017, Welch pleaded guilty to assault with a dangerous weapon and interstate transportation of a firearm. In a subsequent interview with The New York Times, Mr. Welch expressed remorse for his actions, saying, “I just wanted to do something good, and I ended up going in the wrong direction.” I regret the way I handled it.”
A Kannapolis police officer was patrolling North Cannon Boulevard last Saturday around 10 p.m. when he noticed a gray 2001 GMC Yukon vehicle, according to a police news release.
“The officer recognized the vehicle as a vehicle normally driven by a person he had previously arrested and knew he had an outstanding warrant for his arrest,” the statement said. was for a felony probation violation, it added.
He added that the officer stopped the vehicle and during an interaction with the driver realized that the front seat passenger was a person who had an outstanding warrant for his arrest.
“While the officer was speaking with the driver, two additional Kannapolis police officers arrived at the traffic stop to assist. The officer who initiated the traffic stop approached the passenger side of the vehicle and approached the passenger door. and the individual was arrested,” the news release said.
When the officer opened the car door, Welch pulled a handgun from his jacket and pointed it at the officer, police said.
The officer and a second officer in the back of the vehicle ordered Welch to drop his weapon, according to the news release. However, when Welch “did not comply with their repeated demands, both officers fired their service weapons at the passenger, striking him.”
Welch was taken to the hospital, but died from his injuries two days later. In a news release, the officers who fired their weapons were identified as Brooks Jones and Caleb Tate.
The investigation is still ongoing by the State Bureau of Investigation, and Jones and Tate have been placed on administrative leave.