Suspect in Washington pizzeria shooting
wanted to save kids: police
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[December 06, 2016]
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A man charged
with firing an assault rifle in a packed Washington pizzeria on Sunday
told police he had read online that children were being held as sex
slaves there and he wanted to rescue them, police said on Monday.
The Comet Ping Pong restaurant for weeks had been the subject of fake
news stories claiming falsely that it was the hub of a child sex ring
organized by 2016 Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton.
The stories were an example of a proliferation of fake news reports
during the election year, often disseminated through websites purporting
to be news outlets and quoting bogus sources.
Edgar Maddison Welch, 28, of Durham, North Carolina, was charged on
Monday with four criminal counts, including assault with a dangerous
weapon for firing his AR-15-style weapon three times while searching
Comet Ping Pong for the child sex slaves that he told police he believed
were being held there.
He surrendered peacefully after finding no such victims. No one was hurt
in the incident.
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The restaurant had faced social media threats ahead of the Nov. 8
election after fake news stories, known as "Pizzagate," claimed that
Clinton and campaign chief John Podesta were running a child sex ring
out of the pizzeria.
The White House on Monday condemned the surge in similar politically
motivated fake news, calling the stories "corrosive" to democracy.
"There's no denying the corrosive effect these false reports have had on
our political debate. And that's concerning in a political context,"
White House spokesman Josh Earnest told a briefing. "It's deeply
troubling that some of these false reports could lead to violence."
It was not immediately known if Welch had a lawyer.
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![](../images/120616pics/news_I17.jpg)
A general view of the exterior of the Comet Ping Pong pizza
restaurant in Washington, U.S. December 5, 2016. REUTERS/Jonathan
Ernst
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2016/Dec/06/images/ads/current/lincoln_heating_lda_christmas_2015.png)
Welch pleaded guilty in 2013 to a misdemeanor charge of driving
while impaired, a Rowan County Court clerk in North Carolina said.
Hours after Sunday's incident, the sex ring story was boosted by
Michael Flynn Jr., the son of retired Lieutenant General Michael
Flynn, U.S. President-elect Donald Trump's pick to be national
security adviser.
"Until #Pizzagate proven to be false, it'll remain a story. The left
seems to forget #PodestaEmails and the many 'coincidences' tied to
it," Flynn tweeted, referring to the leak of emails tied to Podesta
during the campaign.
The elder Flynn tweeted the false story a few days before the
election as well.
(Reporting by Ian Simpson and Susan Heavey; Editing by Scott Malone
and Jonathan Oatis)
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