Police lethally wounded a suspect, who took hostage three people at the Discovery Channel's headquarters in Maryland, to the north of the U.S. capital, NBC television network reported.
The suspect, identified as 43-year-old James Jay Lee, carried a handgun and had some explosives on him. Lee was an extreme environmentalist and was demanding that the channel report about destructive impact of humans on the environment.
Montgomery County Police Chief Thomas Manger said that apparently one of the explosives on the suspect detonated after policemen took a shot at him. He added that all three hostages were safely removed from the building.
In all, the negotiations with the suspect and the eventual police operation lasted for some four hours on Wednesday. Nearly 1,900 people who work in the building were evacuated as well as all children from a nearby day-care.
The building is currently sealed off as police look for other possible explosives planted inside.
MOSCOW, September 2 (RIA Novosti)
