Police: Gunman inside D.C. pizza place says he was investigating fake story
Authorities say on Sunday afternoon a North Carolina man walked into a Washington, D.C., pizza parlor that has been the subject of a false conspiracy theory and fired at least one shot.
Police have identified the suspect as Edgar Maddison Welch, 28, of Salisbury, North Carolina. He allegedly walked into Comet Ping Pong carrying an assault rifle, and pointed the firearm in the direction of an employee, police said. The employee was able to run away, and notified authorities. After firing at least one shot, Welch was arrested without incident, and told police he was there to "self-investigate" Pizza Gate, a bizarre fake story that spread across the internet before the election, claiming that Comet Ping Pong was the epicenter of a child sex slave ring organized by Hillary Clinton and her former campaign manager, CBS News reports. Authorities found two firearms inside the building, as well as an additional weapon inside Welch's vehicle. He has been charged with assault with a deadly weapon.
Owner James Alefantis said he believes the story was started because he was a Clinton supporter. Over the past several months, he has received thousands of threats, and in late November, police found two women on the Comet Ping Pong patio who said they were looking for underground tunnels used to transport children "so they can do these rituals," adding that they were "putting a lot of curses and spells over the city."
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Catherine Garcia is night editor for TheWeek.com. Her writing and reporting has appeared in Entertainment Weekly and EW.com, The New York Times, The Book of Jezebel, and other publications. A Southern California native, Catherine is a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.
-
The art world and motherhood: the end of a final taboo?
Talking Point Hettie Judah's new touring exhibition offers a 'riveting riposte' to old cliches
By Chas Newkey-Burden, The Week UK Published
-
'Musk's reliance on China draws rising scrutiny'
Today's Newspapers A roundup of the headlines from the US front pages
By The Week Staff Published
-
Biba: the story of a 'legendary emporium'
The Week Recommends Brand's 60th anniversary is being marked with retrospective celebrating the 'iconic shop's cultural importance'
By Adrienne Wyper, The Week UK Published
-
Puffed rice and yoga: inside the collapsed tunnel where Indian workers await rescue
Speed Read Workers trapped in collapsed tunnel are suffering from dysentery and anxiety over their rescue
By Sorcha Bradley, The Week UK Published
-
More than 2,000 dead following massive earthquake in Morocco
Speed Read
By Justin Klawans Published
-
Mexico's next president will almost certainly be its 1st female president
Speed Read
By Peter Weber Published
-
North Korea's Kim to visit Putin in eastern Russia to discuss arms sales for Ukraine war, U.S. says
Speed Read
By Peter Weber Published
-
Gabon's military leader sworn in following coup in latest African uprising
Speed Read
By Justin Klawans Published
-
Nobody seems surprised Wagner's Prigozhin died under suspicious circumstances
Speed Read
By Peter Weber Published
-
Western mountain climbers allegedly left Pakistani porter to die on K2
Speed Read
By Justin Klawans Published
-
'Circular saw blades' divide controversial Rio Grande buoys installed by Texas governor
Speed Read
By Peter Weber Published