UPDATE - 5:30pm: Manger just now told reporters that James Lee has died. Lee was 43-years-old. Manger confirmed that officers fired on Lee after he pointed a gun at one of his hostages…
UPDATE - 5:00pm: Manger told reporters that the hostage situation ended when police shot Lee inside the building at approximately 4:48pm. According to Manger, after Lee fell to the ground, some officers said they saw smoke and may have heard a popping sound. Lee is now in the custody of police, though Manger could not confirm Lee’s physicial condition or whether or not he is in fact, still alive. After hours of negotiations, during which Lee displayed a “wide range of emotions,” officers finally opened fire on him when he reportedly aimed a gun at one of his three hostages. Those hostages have been safely evaucated from the building, and are not believed to have suffered any injuries. Manger said police are now looking for other possible suspicious devices inside the building…
SECOND UPDATE: Montgomery County (Md.) police chief Thomas Manger told reporters that the suspect, James Lee, entered the main entrance of the Discovery building in Silver Spring around 1:00pm, wearing what appeared to be two pipe bombs and a cannister on his frontside and waving a handgun. Lee told everyone on the main floor to stay still. He remains on the first floor, and has been engaged in negotiations with local law enforcement officials since roughly 2:15pm. It has been confirmed that Lee currently has a “small number” of hostages with him inside the building. Police officials believe most of the employees inside the building have been evacuated, although it is uncertain whether a few remain trapped on higher floors. Lee’s motive has yet to be confirmed, although a strange online manifesto that includes the signature “Lee” at the bottom is garnering increasing attention…
UPDATE: A local law enforcement source in Silver Spring has identified the name of the suspect as James Lee. Reports that the suspect is the author of a strange online manifesto aimed at the Discovery Channel have yet to be confirmed…
SILVER SPRING, Md - A spokesman for the Montgomery County (Md.) fire department says county law enforcement officials are “in contact” with a man eyewitnesses say opened fire and took several hostages inside a Silver Spring building earlier this afternoon.
In telephone interviews with multiple outlets, Scott Graham said the suspect is an adult Asian male, and is armed. According to Graham, the suspect is also in posessesion of a potentially dangerous “package.” More than one eyewitness in Silver Spring told reporters earlier that the package appeared to resemble a complex bomb. Graham could not confirm the accuracy of those reports.
The handling of the situation is being coordinated by local and federal law enforcement officials, with a handful of FBI agents present.
No injuries have yet been reported inside the building, which houses the offices of the Discovery Channel and its sibling networks. There is also a daycare center inside the building. On any given day, up to 1,900 employees work inside the building. It is being reported that most of the people inside the building, security officers not included, have been evacuated. Graham was unable to confirm earlier reports of gunfire.