Devices Found in Wheaton Home

Montgomery County Police have recovered four devices suspected to be explosives from a Wheaton residence where James J. Lee may have rented a room, police said in a press conference this afternoon.

Officials would not comment on where the devices were located in the home in the 2500 block of Kimberly Street. 

More devices were also found in the Discovery building, police said. Investigators retrieved the devices and a second starter pistol. Lee had entered the building Wednesday around 1 p.m. with the devices and starter pistols and took hostages.

Special Operations Division Director Capt. Darryl McSwain, the incident commander helping to facilitate the negotiation with Lee before he was killed by SWAT team members, said that they tried to convince Lee to give himself up and to release the hostages safely. But Lee was unwilling to do either.

"On the phone, he sounded agitated and hostile," McSwain said.

Montgomery County officials said that their next step is to locate Lee's vehicle and to examine it thoroughly.