Post by Admin on Dec 15, 2014 22:44:13 GMT
Australian police have confirmed three people were killed during a daylong standoff at a Sydney cafe, including the hostage-taker. The siege ended early Tuesday after heavily armed police stormed the cafe where a man reportedly held 17 people hostage for about 16 hours beginning Monday morning.
New South Wales police said the 50-year-old assailant, whom police sources earlier identified as Iranian immigrant Man Haron Monis, is dead. A 34-year-old man and 38-year-old woman also were killed. Two people were hospitalized with non-life-threatening injuries, while a police officer was being treated after being hit in the face with gunshot pellets. A woman was also being treated for a gunshot wound to the shoulder, police added.
Police commissioner Andrew Scipione called the attack an "isolated incident." He said gunfire was exchanged when police entered the cafe, but he would not confirm the causes of the three deaths. Monis is believed to have started the siege on the Lindt chocolate cafe in the city's central business district about 9:45 a.m. local time Monday. Five people escaped the cafe on Monday and another five early Tuesday, just before police stormed the cafe around 2 a.m. local time (1500 GMT on Monday). At least three more fled with help from emergency workers. Police were seen performing chest compressions on one person.
A police spokeswoman said the hostage-taker made contact during the standoff, but negotiators had not been able to establish a motive for his action. Monis, a self-proclaimed Muslim cleric, was facing charges including sexual assault and accessory to murder in separate cases. He was found guilty in 2012 of sending offensive and threatening letters to the families of Australian soldiers killed overseas, according to media reports. Local media reported that Monis had changed his name from Manteghi Bourjerdi.
Early in the crisis, hostages were seen standing with their hands pushed up against the windows. A black flag with the Islamic creed known as the Shahada written in white could be seen through the glass. The phrase is a declaration of faith for Muslims and translates to "There is no God but Allah, and Muhammad is his messenger." Radical Islamists, including the Islamic State group, have co-opted the Shahada to use on their flags.