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 fatally shot during a police traffic stop during the weekend.
What To Know KPD said Welch was shot on Sunday night after an officer recognized his car, a gray 2001 GMC Yukon.
The officer stopped Welch’s car and while he was speaking with him, two more police officers arrived to help, authorities said.
“After the passenger failed to comply with their repeated requests, both officers fired their duty weapon at the passenger, striking him,” KPD said.
The “Pizzagate” shooter and conspiracy theorist Edgar Maddison Welch opened fire in a Washington, D.C. was killed Monday by North Carolina police after he pulled a gun on officers, the Kannapolis Police Department (KPD) said Thursday. He was a pizza parlor in 2016.
During a police traffic stop over the weekend, Welch, 36, who was acting on a disproven conspiracy theory nine years prior, was shot and killed.
Why It Matters.
Welch made headlines almost ten years ago when he entered Comet Ping Pong brandishing a revolver and an AR-15 rifle and opened fire inside the eatery. He was a fervent supporter of QAnon and thought the pizza place was the site of a pedophile sex-trafficking ring without any supporting evidence.
Welch went to the restaurant to “self-investigate” the conspiracy theory, according to police at the time. In 2017, he entered a guilty plea to interstate firearm transportation and assault with a dangerous weapon.
What You Should Know.
According to KPD, an officer recognized Welch’s vehicle—a gray 2001 GMC Yukon—and shot him on Sunday night. The KPD stated that the officer recognized Welch’s vehicle since it was “one typically driven by an individual whom he had previously arrested, and knew had an outstanding warrant for arrest.”. “..”.
According to authorities, two more police officers arrived to assist Welch while he was talking to the officer who had stopped his car.
Police stated that the person who started the traffic stop “came to the passenger side of the car and opened the front passenger door to arrest the individual.”. The passenger in the front seat took a pistol out of his jacket and aimed it at the officer as soon as he opened the door. That officer ordered the passenger to drop the gun, as did another officer who was standing at the Yukon’s rear passenger side. “.”.
According to the KPD, “both officers struck the passenger with their duty weapons after the passenger refused to comply with their repeated requests.”.
We’re still working on this story and will update it as new details become available.
