Authorities say the man who traveled armed to a pizzeria in the nation's capital nearly a decade ago because of a fake online conspiracy theory has been shot and killed by police in North Carolina.

Edgar Welch fired an assault rifle inside a Washington, D.C., restaurant in December 2016 while claiming to investigate the "pizzagate" hoax.

Edgar Maddison Welch, 36, was shot just after 10 p.m. on Jan. 4, after pulling out a gun during a traffic stop, Kannapolis Fire and Police announced.