In the US, a hostage drama played out at the US Discovery Channel has ended in the shooting of the hostage-taker.

Police shot a man dead after he had taken three hostages at the Discovery Communications headquarters in Maryland, just outside Washington, DC.

The man walked into the Discovery building with a handgun and metal canisters taped to his chest.

After holding several hours of talks, police shot him when they thought he was about to detonate his explosives.

The captives were immediately set free as police stormed the building.

US media has named the gunman as James Jay Lee, a man in his 40’s, who was known for protesting outside the building.

Lee, of San Diego, California, had been arrested outside Discovery’s headquarters in 2008 after throwing thousands of dollars into the air in protest against the network, which he said was not doing enough for the environment.

He authored a website called: savetheplanetprotest.com, on which he demanded that the Discovery Channel broadcast programs that would help to "save the planet."