SuN
.:~**~.~**~.~**~:.
A "small number" of hostages have been taken by an armed man inside the Discovery Communications headquarters in Silver Spring, Maryland, police say.
Montgomery County Police Captain Paul Starks said officers were communicating with the man.
The area around the building, outside Washington DC, has been sealed off.
Discovery employees were evacuated from the building shortly after the incident began at around 1800GMT.
But police said some of the 1,900 workers could still be inside the building.
One female Discovery worker told the BBC that two hostages were being held inside the building.
Ongoing hostage situation
Montgomery County Police Chief J Thomas Manger said a man entered the Discovery headquarters through the main entrance wearing what appeared to be "metallic canisters" on his clothes.
Unnamed police officials quoted by the US media named the gunman as James Jay Lee, a man in his 40s known for protesting outside the building.
A man called James Lee of San Diego, California was arrested outside Discovery's headquarters in 2008 after throwing thousands of dollars into the air in protest against the network, according to The Gazette, a local newspaper.
Mr Lee said he threw the money because Discovery's programming had little to do wtih saving the planet.
Discovery Communications reaches 1.5bn subscribers in 180 countries through networks like Discovery Channel, Animal Planet, and the Science Channel.
Montgomery County Police Captain Paul Starks said officers were communicating with the man.
The area around the building, outside Washington DC, has been sealed off.
Discovery employees were evacuated from the building shortly after the incident began at around 1800GMT.
But police said some of the 1,900 workers could still be inside the building.
One female Discovery worker told the BBC that two hostages were being held inside the building.
Ongoing hostage situation
Montgomery County Police Chief J Thomas Manger said a man entered the Discovery headquarters through the main entrance wearing what appeared to be "metallic canisters" on his clothes.
Unnamed police officials quoted by the US media named the gunman as James Jay Lee, a man in his 40s known for protesting outside the building.
A man called James Lee of San Diego, California was arrested outside Discovery's headquarters in 2008 after throwing thousands of dollars into the air in protest against the network, according to The Gazette, a local newspaper.
Mr Lee said he threw the money because Discovery's programming had little to do wtih saving the planet.
Discovery Communications reaches 1.5bn subscribers in 180 countries through networks like Discovery Channel, Animal Planet, and the Science Channel.
