At about 1 pm, Wednesday, the police were called when an armed man entered the Discovery Channel headquarters building in Silverspring, MD with “metallic canisters” strapped to his body. At least one shot has been heard since he went in and took hostages.
Police, FBI, ATF, and SWAT are on the scene and have been in negotiations with him for over an hour.
The suspect, identified as James Jay Lee, is a radical environmentalist with a long time hatred of the Discovery Channel. He has been calling for protests against them for a few years now. In 2008, they arrested Lee for protesting outside of the building; he was found guilty of disorderly conduct.
When he entered the building, he told people in the lobby to get on the ground. Employees have been advised to lock themselves in their offices. Most of the employees have made it out of the building.
The entire daycare, including rollings cribs full of babies, was emptied quickly. The children were reunited with their parents in the McDonald’s parking lot next door.
Stay tuned as the story develops!