Discovery Being Evacuated

Original 1:41 pm WTOP is reporting that a man with a gun, and possibly explosives, is in the Discovery Building in Silver Spring. Montgomery County SWAT teams are on the scene and the building is being evacuated.

UPDATE: The suspect is an Asian male, police said.

UPDATE: At least one shot has been fired and he has taken at least one hostage. It has been said that the gunman has some sort of tanks (thought to be explosives) strapped to his back.

UPDATE 2:04 pm: Rumors are swirling – reports say gunman is bank robber from Bank of America, activist related to Discovery program “Whale Wars” and former employee. No identity confirmed yet.

UPDATE 3:30 pm: The gunman has been confirmed as Discovery protestor James Jay Lee.

UPDATE 3:45 pm: Lee’s MySpace profile http://www.myspace.com/worldguardian says he is 43 years old, single and a researcher.

UPDATE 5:09 pm : Standoff is over. Police shot James Jay Lee (condition unknown). All hostages are safe, according to reports.

*Interesting side story: A Fishbowl sleuth sent us a video of Lee showering the streets of Silver Spring with his inheritance back in 2008. Apparently he had hoped that the cash would entice people to join him in protest. Video after the jump.

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