Gunman Takes Hostage At Discovery Channel Building

UPDATE: Three hostages have been released unharmed, and the suspect, James J. Lee, was shot at about 4:50 p.m. EDT by police. The latest reports say he was killed.

Lee, armed with a gun and an explosive device entered the Discovery Communications building in Silver Spring on Wednesday afternoon and took several people hostage including a security guard, Montgomery County Police said.

Some breaking news via former UT writer Ian O’Neill who now works for Discovery Space News: A protester has taken at least one hostage at the Discovery Channel building in Silver Spring, Maryland. Reportedly a man entered the lobby and may have fired a weapon and declared, “Nobody is going anywhere,” according to Montgomery County police. Other reports said the gunman may have had explosives attached to his chest. The building has been evacuated, including an in-house daycare center, but a live news feed on TBD recently showed medical personnel bringing in a stretcher. Via Twitter, there is link to a list of demands to the Discovery Channel by someone named “Lee.” NBC just reported that the alleged gunman is James Jay Lee, who has a history of protesting outside the Discovery Channel building.

We’ll provide an update when it becomes available. Thankfully, Ian is not at the building.