Hostage taking at U.S. network ends as gunman shot dead by police

A gunman who took three people hostage at the U.S. headquarters of The Discovery Channel in suburban Washington Wednesday, has died after being shot by police.

All three hostages escaped safely.

They spent about three hours negotiating with him after he burst into the suburban Washington building about 1 p.m. ET waving a handgun and with canisters strapped to his body.

Montgomery County Police Chief Thomas Manger says an explosive device may have detonated, and the suspect may have brought other devices into the building. He said as far as he knows, the 1,900 people who work in the building were able to get out safely.

Police were negotiating by phone with the gunman, who burst into the suburban Washington building about 1 p.m. waving a handgun.

The gunman took what Montgomery County Police Chief Thomas Manger described as a “small number of hostages” but he did not say how many. He also did not say what the man wants or whether anyone was hurt.

Manger said most of the 1,900 people who work in the building were able to get out safely.

According to online records, the hostage taker’s website – now blocked – is registered under a Canadian post office box, and a British Columbia-based technology company, doteasy.com, is listed as the technical contact for the site.

An employee with the Burnaby-based company refused comment about the connection. The man, who did not give his name, said he had received many media calls about the situation, but refused to divulge further information.

He said the online firm has about 160,000 customers. “Regarding that website, we have no comment,” he said.

A law enforcement official speaking on condition of anonymity because the investigation is still under way said authorities have identified James J. Lee as the likely suspect. Police believed he had a handgun but had not confirmed that he had explosives, the official said.

A different official, who spoke on condition of anonymity for the same reason, said Mr. Lee previously protested outside the building.

According to a story in The Gazette, which covers Montgomery County, Mr. Lee was arrested there in 2008 after throwing thousands of dollars in the air outside the building.

Mr. Lee said he planned the protest because Discovery’s programming had little to do with saving the planet. He was identified then as being from San Diego, Calif., although he gave a local address of a homeless shelter.

At the trial, he said he began working to save the planet after being laid off from his job in San Diego. He said he was inspired by “Ishmael,” a novel by environmentalist Daniel Quinn and by former vice-president Al Gore’s documentary An Inconvenient Truth.

Molly Riley/Reuters

Montgomery County police officers cordon off the area near the Discovery Channel headquarters building during a hostage situation in Silver Spring, Maryland, September 1, 2010. A man carrying a gun and possibly with explosives strapped to his body took a small number of hostages in the Discovery Channel headquarters building in suburban Washington on Wednesday.

Montgomery County fire spokesman Capt. Oscar Garcia said no one was hurt. He said bomb technicians responded to the scene and the initial report was of a suspicious package that might be explosive. He said some employees had left the building.

Montgomery County Police Cpl. Dan Friz told WJLA-TV that a tactical team was trying to get in touch with the gunman, who was being monitored on closed circuit TV.

Adam Dolan, a sales director in Discovery’s education division, told The Associated Press by phone that he was heading to lunch with a co-worker when he heard there was a situation in the building.

He was told to go back up to the top floor, lock the door and turn off the lights. Eventually the workers were herded down a stairwell and told to go home.

“Everyone was very scared, but at the same time … I think people were calm and collected and responded as one would expect in this situation,” said Mr. Dolan, 28.

When he got to the bottom floor, he saw shattered glass near the company’s daycare and suspected it was broken to get the children out. He later got an e-mail that all the children were safe and had been taken to a McDonalds.

Mr. Dolan said the company has unarmed security guards who won’t let anyone into the building without a badge.

Another person inside the building told The Associated Press the gunman had something strapped to his chest and had hostages. The person asked not to be identified, saying people inside were told not to speak to the media.

ATF and FBI officials also said they were responding. Authorities descended on the area, and people were being kept away from the main drag of the downtown area where the building is located amid restaurants and shops. Traffic in the area was jammed.

Discovery Communications Inc. operates cable and satellite networks in the U.S., including The Discovery Channel, TLC and Animal Planet. Discovery shows include Cash Cab and Man vs. Wild, and TLC airs American Chopper and Kate Plus Eight.

Animal Planet also airs the controversial series Whale Wars, about attempts by environmentalists to disrupt the Japanese whaling industry.