Joe.My.God. LGBT News
The Charlotte Observer reports:
The Salisbury man who died Monday after he was shot by two Kannapolis police officers over the weekend was the ‘Pizzagate’ gunman arrested in Washington, D.C., in 2016 after he terrified people with a loaded AR-15 inside a restaurant. Edgar Maddison Welch, the man killed, made national headlines in 2016 when he entered Comet Ping Pong, a pizza restaurant in Washington, D.C., armed with an assault rifle and loaded revolver.
Saturday, Welch was sitting in the passenger seat of a gray 2001 GMC Yukon when an officer pulled it over near Cannon Boulevard, a Kannapolis Police Department press release said Thursday. The officer recognized the vehicle, having arrested Welch in the past, and knew he had an outstanding warrant for his arrest for a felony probation violation, police said.
The officer that pulled the vehicle over then moved to the front passenger seat where Welch was sitting to arrest him. But when he opened the door, Welch pulled out a handgun from his jacket and pointed it at the officer, police said.
From a 2017 Justice Department press release:
Edgar Maddison Welch, 29, of Salisbury, N.C., was sentenced today to four years in prison on charges stemming from an incident in which he carried a loaded AR-15 assault rifle and a revolver into a Northwest Washington pizza restaurant, scattering employees and customers, and fired his assault rifle into a door.
Welch pled guilty on March 24, 2017, in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, to a federal charge of interstate transportation of a firearm and ammunition, and a District of Columbia charge of assault with a dangerous weapon. He was sentenced by the Honorable Ketanji Brown Jackson.
Following his prison term, Welch will be placed on three years of supervised release. While on supervised release, Welch is to receive a mental health assessment; he also was ordered to stay away from the restaurant while on release. Additionally, he must pay $5,744 in restitution for property damage he caused during the incident.
In sentencing the defendant, the judge declared that “the extent of the recklessness in this case is breathtaking,” adding that it was only through “sheer luck” that no one was injured.
According to the government’s evidence, on Sunday, December 4, 2016, Welch transported three loaded firearms, together with ammunition, from North Carolina to Washington, D.C.
The firearms included a 9mm AR-15 assault rifle loaded with approximately 29 rounds of ammunition, a fully-loaded, six-shot, .38-caliber revolver, and a loaded shotgun with additional shotgun shells.
He drove directly to the Comet Ping Pong restaurant, in the 5000 block of Connecticut Avenue NW. According to the government’s evidence, Welch was motivated, at least in part, by unfounded rumors concerning a child sex-trafficking ring that supposedly was being perpetrated at the establishment.
Upon arriving at the restaurant, Welch parked his car and armed himself. At about 3 p.m., he marched inside the restaurant, which was occupied by employees and customers, including children. He was carrying the AR-15 assault rifle and the revolver.
He was carrying the AR-15 openly, with one hand on the pistol grip, and the other hand on the hand guard around the barrel, such that anyone with an unobstructed view could see the gun.
The customers and employees fled the building. At one point, Welch encountered a locked room and attempted to force open the door, first using a butter knife and then discharging his assault rifle multiple times into the door.
A few minutes later, an unaware employee entered the restaurant, carrying pizza dough. Welch saw the employee and turned toward the worker with the assault rifle, causing the worker to immediately fear he would be shot.
The worker fled. Welch was left alone in the restaurant. After spending more than 20 minutes inside, he left his firearms and exited the restaurant unarmed. He was then arrested and has remained in custody ever since. No one was injured.
The assault rifle and revolver were recovered inside the restaurant. A shotgun also was recovered from the defendant’s car, along with a box of shotgun ammunition.
Where they go one, they go all. Oops.
‘Pizzagate’ gunman fatally shot by police outside Charlotte, NC, in traffic stop
Kannapolis police said Edgar Maddison Welch pointed a gun at officers on Saturday, two of whom then fired at him.
— Raleigh News & Observer (unofficial) (@not-newsobserver.bsky.social) January 9, 2025 at 12:37 PM