Police Shoot Armed Gunman Ending Hostage Scene at Discovery Channel

James Lee's MySpace states: "It's time for REVOLUTION!!!"

ABC image of suspect James Lee

(SILVER SPRINGS, Md.) - Police in Montgomery County, Maryland say an armed gunman who was holding three hostages in the channel's building in Silver Springs has been shot by police.

Lee states on his MySpace page: "I am ready to do something".

Police say the suspect's name is James Lee, a resident of Silver Springs. He may be an environmental activist, though information is somewhat sketchy at this point. It is reported that shots were fired.

Silver Springs Police say the 43-year-old suspect is not unknown. Lee has reportedly been calling for protests against the Discovery Channel and was arrested for disorderly conduct outside of the company's headquarters in 2008.

According to ABC News, Lee has a website with postings of "disgusting human babies," "parasitic infants," and states that people should "disassemble civilization."

Police evacuated employees at Discovery and others were told to lock themselves into their offices and take cover. Agencies on scene included local police, as well as agents from the FBI and ATF.

Bomb techs were on scene and a SWAT team was also in place.

Lee's apparent frustration with the environment does not seem rooted in any specific area. His blogging online reaches into different, specific environmental issues and developments. In 2006 he wrote:

I finished reading Al Gore's book, and inconvenient truth a few days ago. It was very enlightening. However, at the end he didn't offer any real solutions, as if changing a lightbulb would even put a scratch in the global warming epidemic. The book was half good, which means the part about science was good. The rest seemed like a commercial for sainthood.

I re-read Genesis the first chapter. It was obviously written by a totalitarian farmer.

Today I am at SDSU doing research. I am also going to go get my old apartment back so I am closer to Borders. I watched video clips of the icecaps melting from global warming as well as scientific exploration of the problem.

Police negotiated with Lee but did not reveal what his demands were. There apparently is a strong possibility that Lee wanted to have his points aired on the channel.

Lee reveals large insight into his character online. In 2006 he wrote:

I refuse to read anything that is not directly related to the overpopulation problem and global warming. I am searching history for clues that could save the planet. I still am baffled why this is happening. It seems impossible. I am awaiting some nature videos that I ordered.

Guys, I went to the bookstore to relax, you know? Take it easy and then reflect on my life. I didn't mean to stumble on the book of the century. To be honest, the Daniel Quinn books are what I have been looking for for the better half of my life.

I remember a question I posed to a religious friend some time ago, that if we were all "meant" to act a certain way, then why do animals act the way they do? Why do they die? Can't they be "saved" as well. What I got was a definite "no,"

I absolutely hate it when someone tells me "no" or "it can't be done" or "that's just the way it is."

Police on scene say their goal was to simply 'keep him talking' and they are continuing to engage Lee in conversation, according to Montgomery County Police Chief Thomas Manger said.

Again, at this point James Lee has been shot, and the hostage situation is over.

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