Suspect Killed in Discovery Hostage Standoff

A man obsessed with programs on the Discovery Channel stormed into the company’s headquarters in suburban Washington, D.C., on Wednesday wearing explosive canisters and brandishing a handgun, sparking a four-hour hostage drama that ended when police shot and killed the man and freed three workers he was holding captive.

Multiple law-enforcement sources identified the slain gunman as James J. Lee, a 43-year-old man who had lived in San Diego before moving to the Washington area. Montgomery County Police Chief Thomas Manger wouldn’t confirm the man’s identity.

After the hostages—a security guard and two male employees of Discovery Communications Inc.—were safe, police worked to secure the site, looking for possible explosives Mr. Lee might have left behind.

The suspect entered the building around 1 p.m. local time waving a handgun, and with metal canisters strapped to the front and back of his vest, according to witnesses. Almost all the people in the building, where about 1,900 people work and which includes a day-care facility, were safely evacuated while police began negotiations with the suspect.

Officials said the suspect had “concerns” with Discovery, waved a handgun and told the three hostages to “stay still.”

“He had a wide range of emotions during our communications,” said the police chief.

Read the full story here.

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