Police kill suspect in Discovery Channel building standoff

A man police said had a gun and explosives took over the headquarters of the Discovery Communications building in Silver Spring, Md., Wednesday afternoon — along with three hostages — before being fatally shot by authorities, according to police.


J. Thomas Manger, the police chief in Montgomery County in suburban Washington, told reporters that, after negotiating with the suspect for several hours, officers fired at him at about 4:50 p.m.,
resulting in an explosion of one of the devices he had strapped to his body.

{mosads}Manger later said the suspect died. The three people he had been holding hostage were safely freed, Manger said.

Manger said authorities believe there may be four other explosive devices — two backpacks and two boxes — in the Discovery Channel’s building.

Multiple news media, citing law enforcement sources, reported the gunman was James Jay Lee.

Earlier in the day, Manger described the suspect as an Asian male who had “metallic canister devices” attached to his front and back. He entered the building around 1 p.m., pulled out and waved around a handgun and “told everyone to stand still,” Manger said. 

NBC’s Pete Williams identified the suspect as Lee, and said he had a “history” of protesting the network over concerns that its programming was not doing enough to protect the environment. Manger said earlier in the day he could not confirm the suspect’s identity, saying only police had heard the “same reports.”

Officials later reported that the suspect had been arrested in 2008 and convicted of disorderly conduct after trying to stage a protest outside the building; he served 10 days of jailtime. Police said the terms of his probation included staying away from the Discovery building. That probation ended two weeks ago, according to police.

—This was initially posted at 3:03 p.m. and last updated at 7:26 p.m.