‘Pizzagate’ killer killed by US police after traffic stop

The ‘pizzagate’ killer who fired a rifle at a restaurant following a false conspiracy theory posted online has died after police shot him dead following a traffic stop.

Authorities said Edgar Maddison Welch was a passenger in a vehicle stopped by police in Kannapolis, North Carolina, on Saturday night.

One of the officers recognized the car as belonging to a person they were arresting who had an outstanding arrest warrant, Kannapolis police said in a statement.

When police approached the vehicle to arrest Welch, he allegedly pulled out a gun and pointed it at the officer.

He was ordered to drop the gun, but he didn’t, and two officers shot Welch, police said.

He was taken to hospital, where he died of his injuries two days later.

None of the officers, the driver of the car, or another passenger were injured.

“Pizzagate”

In 2016, Welch made headlines after firing a shot at the Comet Ping Pong restaurant in Washington, DC.

Believing in a baseless conspiracy theory that prominent Democrats were running a child sex trafficking ring out of the pizzeria, Welch drove from North Carolina with an assault rifle to the restaurant.

The false theory was called “pizzagate” and appeared on the Internet during the 2016 presidential election.

Welch, then 28, he entered the restaurant armedwhen customers fled the scene and shot into a locked closet.

He ended up turning himself in to the police after failing to find any evidence to support the conspiracy theory and no one was injured.

Restaurant owner James Alefantis said at the time that the conspiracy theory and resulting violence had traumatized him and his staff.

Welch later pleaded guilty to interstate transportation of firearms and ammunition and assault with a dangerous weapon and was sentenced to four years in prison.

City of Kannapolis Communications Director Annette Privette Keller confirmed that the deceased was the same man involved in the incident at the pizzeria.