When I first heard that someone had gone to the Discovery Channel with a gun and taken hostages, I joked that the man must have wanted more “Shark Weeks” or something. But it turned out to be no laughing matter.

Here’s the story from The Daily Mail:

>>A gunman has been shot dead by police after taking a number of hostages at the Discovery Channel headquarters in Maryland, U.S., after his idea for a television show was rejected.

All three of James Jay Lee’s hostages managed to escape safely. At least one device appeared to explode as he was gunned down.

Lee walked into the main entrance of the building at 1pm today waving a gun and wearing what appeared to be metallic canisters strapped to his front and back.

Police have not yet confirmed if he was carrying a bomb. Three bomb technicians were rushed to the scene in Silver Spring, Maryland, a suburb of Washington, DC.

Most of the 1,900 people who work in the building were able to escape safely. Children were also rushed to safety from the company’s daycare facility, including four cribs full of babies.

They were reunited with their frantic parents in a nearby McDonald’s.

Earlier, police said they are negotiating with Lee now and watching him on CCTV.

It is not yet clear what he wanted – but it is believed that he became enraged after Discovery rejected his ideas for a television show.

‘Only we, the people, can demand change. Only we can demand from the world that they start making positive changes starting with Discovery Channel’s programming.

‘If there is ANY network whose responsibility it is to save the planet, it’s the Discovery Channel.’

A website registered under the name of James Lee contained demands that Discovery air programming urging people to stop having babies.

He said that was leading to the overpopulation of the planet.

‘Civilization must be exposed for the filth it is,’ says the site, http://savetheplanetprotest.com.

‘Saving the Planet means saving what’s left of the non-human Wildlife by decreasing the Human population. That means stopping the human race from breeding any more disgusting human babies!’ it says.

The channel’s parent company, Discovery Communications, operates several other cable networks in the U.S. including TLC and Animal Planet.

Discovery shows include ‘Cash Cab’ and ‘Man vs. Wild,’ and TLC airs ‘American Chopper’ and “Kate Plus Eight’.

Animal Planet also airs the controversial series ‘Whale Wars,’ about attempts by environmentalists to disrupt the Japanese whaling industry.

It is not the first time Lee has run into trouble with the Discovery Channel.

He was arrested outside the building in 2008 after a protest there in which he threw thousands of dollars in the air.

Lee said he planned the protest because Discovery’s programming had little to do with saving the planet.

He was identified then as being from San Diego, California, although he gave a local address of a homeless shelter.

At the trial, he said he began working to save the planet after being laid off from his job in San Diego.

He said he was inspired by ‘Ishmael’, a novel by environmentalist Daniel Quinn and by former Vice President Al Gore’s documentary ‘An Inconvenient Truth’.

Adam Dolan, a sales director in Discovery’s education division, told The Associated Press that he was heading to lunch with a co-worker when he heard about the gunman.

He was told to go back up to the top floor, lock the door and turn off the lights.

Eventually the workers were herded down a stairwell and told to go home.

‘Everyone was very scared, but at the same time … I think people were calm and collected and responded as one would expect in this situation,’ said Dolan, 28.

When he got to the bottom floor, he saw shattered glass near the company’s daycare and suspected it was broken to get the children out.

Dolan said the company’s unarmed security guards were not letting anyone into the building without a badge.

Another person inside the building told The Associated Press the gunman had something strapped to his chest and had hostages. The person asked not to be identified, saying people inside were told not to speak to the media.

ATF and FBI officials were also at the scene.

People were being kept away from the main drag of the downtown area where the building is located amid restaurants and shops. Traffic in the area was jammed.<<

There are benefits as well as disadvantages to living in the DC area. You get access to all kinds of services, but you also have to understand that you are in a very public arena where people feel they can make a stand and get noticed. However, if one takes over a building with a gun and bombs, you shouldn’t be surprised if someone uses a gun against you as well.

Here’s a video about the whole incident:

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