Police say Discovery gunman holding “small number” of hostages

Local television identifies the man as environmental fanatic.

THE GUNMAN INVOLVED IN THE Discovery Channel hostage situation in Maryland has been identified by local telegvision as James Lee.

Lee was arrested for disorderly conduct in 2008 outside the building after throwing money at it.

Police confirmed that “a small number of hostages are with the suspect” and that they are engaged in continuing negotiations with the gunman.

Lee released a list of bizarre demands for the Discovery station earlier today, which called for programming to prevent environmental damage.

He said, “Civilization must be exposed for the filth it is,” and said that Discovery should push programmes “encouraging human sterilization and infertility”.

Police spoke briefly about their interaction with Lee, and said they could not confirm his identity until they speak to him face-to-face.

They said that while most of the Discovery employees had been evacuated safely from the building, they could not confirm if more people were stranded on the upper floors of the building.