Police end hostage drama at US Discovery ChannelPolice end hostage drama at US Discovery Channel

SILVER SPRING, Md., (Reuters) – US police shot and  killed a man who took three people hostage, waving a gun and  apparently fitted out with explosives, in the headquarters of  the Discovery Channel near Washington yesterday.

Officers who had been watching the hostage drama on a  building security camera crept in while police negotiated with  the emotional gunman and shot him when he pointed his pistol at  one of the three men he held hostage.

“A hostage moved, he pulled his gun, and a shot was taken,”  Montgomery County police chief Tom Manger told reporters. He  said the suspect was killed and the hostages were safe.

The man, named by a U.S. law enforcement official as James  Lee, had been arrested before for protesting against Discovery  Channel over environmental issues.

“He had a history … of conflict with Discovery,” Manger  said. The incident caused chaos in Silver Spring, Maryland, a  shopping and office district and commuter hub on the edge of  the U.S. capital.

Police sealed off the area around the building and SWAT  teams deployed shortly after the suspect entered the building  carrying a handgun at about 1 p.m. Manger said county and state  police, FBI and Homeland Security agents joined the operation.

The building, where nearly 1,900 employees work, was  evacuated and children were rushed from a day-care center.

Police said they were still trying to determine whether two  boxes and two backpacks that the hostage-taker had were  explosive devices. Bomb-sniffing dogs checked the area before  workers were allowed to leave neighboring buildings.