I 'went about it the wrong way': Pizzeria gunman explains his motive

In his first interview with the media since he fired an assault rifle in a Washington pizzeria, Edgar M. Welch admitted that he went about things "the wrong way" last week and that he regretted how he "handled the situation."

Welch, of Salisbury, North Carolina, was arrested on Sunday for assault with a dangerous weapon. He had driven six hours to the restaurant Comet Ping Pong in Washington, DC, to investigate a baseless conspiracy theory that Hillary Clinton was leading a ring of child sex slaves there.

Speaking to a reporter from The New York Times, Welch said he had originally just wanted to give the restaurant "a closer look" so he could "shine some light on it" after reading false news reports on the internet. He said he could feel his "heart breaking over the thought of innocent people suffering," The Times reported.

Welch didn't say when or why he decided to bring an assault rifle into the restaurant, but once he was inside, he realized "the intel on this wasn't 100%," although he didn't completely dismiss the news reports, according to The Times.

According to the newspaper, Welch said he would have done things differently if he had the chance.

"I just wanted to do some good and went about it the wrong way," he said.

Read the full New York Times story here»

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