WASHINGTON — A North Carolina man shot a rifle inside a pizza parlor in Washington over a political conspiracy theory, the Washington Post reports. The conspiracy theory stemmed from a fake news story about the Comet Ping Pong Restaurant. The set of stories, deemed PizzaGate, alleged that the restaurant and its owner were connected to a child sex trafficking operation, according to CNN.
CNN reports the man admitted the fake news led him to the restaurant.
Police said the man was Edgar Maddison Welch, 28, of Salisbury, North Carolina.
According to the Washington Post, he took a gun into the shop and pointed it at an employee, then fired a shot inside the restaurant.
Nearby businesses were placed on lockdown during the incident. Welch was arrested without incident, according to the Washington Post.
