The conspiracy theorist who pulled a gun on a Washington, D.C., pizza shop in 2016 over a conspiracy theory was killed by police in a traffic stop in North Carolina. 

Police say Edgar Welch was shot last week by two North Carolina police officers after he pulled a gun on them during a traffic stop. He died from his injuries at the hospital later.

In 2016, Welch opened fire in a Northwest D.C. pizza parlor, Comet Ping Pong, based on the unfounded internet “Pizzagate” theory that the restaurant was trafficking children and housing a satanic pedophile ring linked to members of the Democratic Party. This theory has been entirely disproven by law enforcement and major media outlets.

Welch walked into the restaurant, openly carrying an AR-15-style rifle and a revolver, later telling police he planned to “self-investigate” the restaurant. 

Customers and employees fled the pizza shop in horror. No one was killed. 

In 2017, Welch was sentenced to four years in prison after pleading guilty and was later released from custody in 2020. His posttrial supervision was set to end in 2023.

According to police in Kannapolis, North Carolina, in the Charlotte area, on the morning of Jan. 4, police said they encountered Welch as a passenger in a vehicle, and they determined he was wanted for a felony probation violation. Police said that when an officer attempted to open the passenger door to put Welch under arrest, Welch pulled a handgun from his jacket and pointed it at the officer. 

Welch was then told to drop the weapon by that officer and a second officer who arrived to assist, but authorities allege that he refused, which led both officers to fire.

Emergency responders took Welch to the hospital, where he died from his injuries two days later. None of the officers, nor the driver of the car and another passenger, were injured.

During the trial for Welch’s crimes in Washington, James Alefantis, who owns Comet Ping Pong, said the “physical terror” created by Welch and the rumors that fueled his actions that day “left lasting damage on the people I love.”

According to court documents, Welch had watched online videos and shows featuring right-wing commentators such as Alex Jones who theorized former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and other Democratic officials were involved in a pedophile ring operating outside the pizza shop.

In his guilty plea, Welch appeared apologetic for his actions, saying he was a father who became alarmed by these unfounded claims enough to drive to Washington to “self-investigate.”

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After Alefantis’s attorneys requested that Jones retract his false statements, Jones apologized for amplifying the conspiracy theory in March 2017, reading prepared remarks in a six-minute video in which he said neither the pizza parlor nor its owner were involved in a human trafficking operation. 

The shooting death of Welch is under review by the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation. Officers who fired at him are on administrative leave, per the department’s protocol.