The man at the center of the hostage crisis in Silver Spring, Maryland has been identified by police. He is believed to be one, James Lee. The emergency response team is in touch with him and has been engaging in a dialogue with Lee for more than an hour, as of this writing.
Montgomery County, Maryland, Fire Rescue Chief Ricard Bowers said the gunman at the Discovery Channel's headquarters is holding hostage more than one person. The building is home to the headquarters of Discovery Channel and there are an estimated 1,900 people who work there. There is also a report that there is an on-site day care facility.
Law enforcement officials told media that once the situation was made known to Discovery Channel executives, employees were first asked to stay in their offices and then instructed to evacuate the building. Police and emergency response team assisted in the evacuation, but as of the present time cannot confirm if all individuals had been able to leave.
The original story with early details, can be found, here
Bowers said that negotiations began at approximately 3:20 PM EDT, have been going on for nearly an hour, "and we will continue that for as long as we can. A police spokesman has told CNN that Lee is "...wearing what appeared to be metallic canister devices on his front and back. He also pulled a handgun out and was waving a handgun."
There are no confirmed reports that Lee has discharged his weapon, although some among the Discovery Channel's employees who were evacuated from the building, said they heard what sounded like gunfire, at an early stage in the crisis.
James Lee is an environmental protester who has been publishing criticism of the network in the form of an online manifesto, according to a senior law enforcement official close to the investigation. A brief look at the manifesto reveals that Lee is angry about the Discovery Channel's lack of what he calls, "daily prime-time shows devoted to "solutions to save the planet," perhaps in a game-show format, insisting "Make it interesting so people watch and apply solutions!!!!"
CNN has more details on the complete text of the manifesto, here
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