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Discovery Channel Attacker James Lee Killed

By Tanya Roth, Esq. on September 01, 2010 | Last updated on March 21, 2019

Earlier today, September 1, an armed man walked into the offices of the Discovery Channel in Silver Spring, Maryland and took hostages. It has been reported now that the Discovery Channel attacker has been shot by police. The man is now confirmed to be James J. Lee. Lee was wearing several explosive devices when he entered the building about 1:00 p.m. local time. At least one of the explosives went off when he was shot.

Soon after James Lee entered the building, authorities were able to evacuate the on-site day care center and move the children to a near-by McDonald's.

According to MSNBC, SWAT officers shot at Lee about 4:50 p.m. EST because officials "believed the hostages were in danger." An NBC News producer called into the building during the standoff and unexpectedly spoke with the hostage taker. He identified himself as James J. Lee and said, "I have a gun and I have a bomb. I have several bombs strapped to my body ready to go off." NBC News told Montgomery County authorities about this conversation, but NBC held this report until the situation was resolved.

MSNBC reports along with other sources that Lee is responsible for an extreme environmentalist "manifesto" online purporting to save the planet by limiting humans. He wanted Discovery Communications to support his anti-population growth views. More investigations into Lee's protests and his demands of the Discovery Channel will no doubt be forthcoming in the following days.

Despite reported chaos over evacuation procedures, no Discovery Channel employees were hurt. For the report in realtime from the MSNBC Twitter feed, click here. For more news sources, see below.

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