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U.S. police shot and killed a man who took three people hostage, waving a gun and apparently fitted out with explosives, in the headquarters of the Discovery Channel near Washington on Wednesday.
Officers who had been watching the hostage drama on a building security camera crept in while police negotiated with the emotional gunman and shot him when he pointed his pistol at one of the three men he held hostage.
“A hostage moved, he pulled his gun, and a shot was taken,” Montgomery County police chief Tom Manger told reporters. He said the suspect was killed and the hostages were safe.
The man, named by a U.S. law enforcement official as James Lee, had been arrested before for protesting against Discovery Channel over environmental issues.
“He had a history … of conflict with Discovery,” Manger said.
The incident caused chaos in Silver Spring, Maryland, a shopping and office district and commuter hub on the edge of the U.S. capital.
Police sealed off the area around the building and SWAT teams deployed shortly after the suspect entered the building carrying a handgun at about 1 p.m. Manger said county and state police, FBI and Homeland Security agents joined the operation.
The building, where nearly 1,900 employees work, was evacuated and children were rushed from a day-care centre.
Police said they were still trying to determine whether two boxes and two backpacks that the hostage-taker had were explosive devices. Bomb-sniffing dogs checked the area before workers were allowed to leave neighbouring buildings.
President Barack Obama is set to appear on the Discovery show “Mythbusters” in December as part of a White House effort to promote science and math.
In the series, which aims to uncover the truth behind popular myths and legends, a team will answer a request from the president to revisit its 2006 experiment on the effectiveness of a Death Ray.
Obama will help the show’s team members Adam Savage and Jamie Hyneman discover whether Greek scientist Archimedes really set fire to an invading Roman fleet using only mirrors and the reflected rays of the sun.
In the 2006 episode, seen below, the team declared the myth “busted” because it took far too long for any reflected light to ignite a fire on a distant ship. Obama, however, requested they make another attempt.
A press release for the show asks, “Will Adam and Jamie be able to pull this off, or will they have to report back to the president that they failed?”
Producers are keeping mum on how exactly President Obama will help prove — or disprove — the myth. The episode is scheduled to air on Dec. 8.
Obama will announce his participation in the show during today’s scheduled White House Science Fair, celebrating the winners of a broad range of science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) competitions.