Former CFCC student Edgar Welch was arrested in Washington, D.C., Sunday after entering a pizza restaurant with a gun to investigate "Pizzagate."

WILMINGTON -- The North Carolina man arrested Sunday for firing a rifle inside a Washington, D.C., pizza restaurant was a former student at Cape Fear Community College and an actor in a locally produced film.

Edgar Maddison Welch, 28, of Salisbury was arrested Sunday after D.C. Metropolitan Police said he entered the Comet Ping Pong restaurant with a gun to "self investigate" a political conspiracy theory falsely linked to the establishment.

CFCC spokeswoman Rachel Nadeau confirmed Monday that Welch attended the community college from 2008 to 2009, but never graduated. He was pursuing an associate of arts degree, she said.

On Sunday, police said Welch entered the restaurant around 3 p.m. and pointed the weapon at an employee. The employee and patrons were able to flee and call police before Welch began shooting inside the restaurant as he left.

He surrendered and was arrested outside of the restaurant. Welch is charged with assault with a dangerous weapon.

Welch told police he came to investigate “Pizzagate,” a fictitious conspiracy theory that emerged during the presidential election.

The restaurant attracted national attention during the election in response to fake news stories that stated that Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton and her campaign chief ran a child sex ring out of the restaurant, the Associated Press reported.

When Welch was arrested, police recovered an AR-15 rifle, a Colt .38 handgun, a shotgun and a folding knife, AP said.

While in Wilmington, Welch is credited as an bit actor in 2009’s locally produced movie “The Bleeding,” according to his IMDb page. He is also listed as a writer on a 2011 local short film “Mute” and a production assistant on “The Mill” and “A Tale About a Bootlegger” -- both shot in the western part of the state.

Welch's Facebook page lists previous employment as the Locke Fire Department, a volunteer station in Salisbury.

Reporter Hunter Ingram can be reached at 910-343-2327 or Hunter.Ingram@StarNewsOnline.com.