Discovery Channel bomb man shot dead by police

A man obsessed with programmes on the Discovery Channel burst into its office with a bomb strapped to his body and took three people hostage.

After fours hours of negotiations police shot him dead when he pointed a gun at a hostage.

James J Lee, 43, told a TV news reporter by telephone: "I have several bombs strapped to my body ready to go off. I have a device that if I drop it, it will explode."

He said he built the bombs in about three weeks. "I did a lot of research. I had to experiment," he said.

The hostages were unhurt and most of the 1,900 people who work in the building in Silver Spring, near Washington, were evacuated.

In February 2008 Lee was charged with disorderly conduct for staging a "Save the Planet Protest" outside the Discovery Channel. On his website he wrote that a show called Planet Green was "about more products to make money, not actual solutions".

Instead, he said, the network should air "programmes encouraging human sterilisation and infertility".

"Humans are the most destructive, filthy, pollutive creatures around and are wrecking what's left of the planet with their false morals and breeding cultures."

Discovery should stop "encouraging the birth of any more parasitic human infants", he said, probably a reference to shows such as Kate Plus 8 and 19 Kids and Counting.

David Leavy, a Discovery vice-president, said the company knew Lee. "We're relieved that it ended without any harm to our employees."