The man who was fueled by an online conspiracy theory about sex trafficking almost 10 years ago was shot by a police officer over the weekend and later died.
Edgar Maddison Welch opened fire inside a Washington, D.C. pizza shop in 2016 after he believed that it was the cover of a child sex trafficking ring and the center of the theory called “Pizzagate,” The Associated Press reported. During that incident, he shot a locked closet inside the restaurant, but when he realized no children were being held captive in the business, surrendered peacefully. No one was hurt during that incident. He pleaded guilty to interstate transportation of a firearm and ammunition and assault with a dangerous weapon the following year. He was sentenced to four years behind bars.
Welch was a passenger in a car stopped by officers in Kannapolis on Jan. 4, the Kannapolis Police Department said in a news release. The officer knew that the SUV was one that Welch had driven before and that Welch had an outstanding warrant for a felony probation violation.
Officials said when officers approached the SUV to place Welch under arrest, he pulled out a gun and pointed it at one of them. He was told to drop the weapon but did not comply. That’s when the officers shot him, the AP reported.
Welch was taken to an area hospital where he died on Monday, WSOC reported. No one else was injured.
The shooting is being reviewed by the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation and the two officers involved are on administrative leave as is protocol, according to the police department.
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