Sydney siege ends in deaths of extremist gunman, two hostages

Tuesday, December 16, 2014

Pretoria - Sydney's terror siege ended early Tuesday morning with three dead including the lone gunman after armed police stormed a cafe in the heart of Australia's largest city to end the 17-hour incident.

Flashes of light and gunshot rang out from the building moments after six hostages escaped from armed Islamic preacher Sheik Man Haron Monis.

Police forced entry into the building using flash grenades and gunfire.

The exchange of gunfire started with three discrete bangs, with the first shot bringing out five people from the building.

A space followed after the subsequent second shot and then a near-continuous volley of about dozens of shots was heard.

Except the death of the gunman, police confirmed two of the hostages were killed and at least four others were injured, one of them a police officer.

One of the victims, cafe manager Tori Johnson, was killed when he was wrestling a gun from the hostage taker, according to the Australian Broadcasting Commission (ABC).

Rescued hostages said Johnson, who was 34, decided to take action when Monis started to fall asleep at 2 a.m. after the siege had been going on for 17 hours.

Johnson lunged at the gunman's weapon, enabling others to flee.

The second hostage killed has been identified as 38-year-old Katrina Dawson, mother of three children, who was pronounced dead after being taken to hospital. She was killed trying to defend her pregnant friend, the Australian Associated Press reports.

At least four people were injured including a women in her 40s with a gunshot wound, a police officer who suffered a bullet graze to the cheek and a woman who suffered back problems.

National shock

Although it is not yet known to Commonwealth or State authorities what the motivations behind the attack were, Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott revealed that the gunman, who was shot and killed in the police raid, had a long history of "violent crime, infatuation with extremism and mental instability."

Monis, an Iranian cleric, was on bail for being an accessory to the murder of his ex-wife, as well as facing more than 40 charges of sexual assault. He had previously been convicted for sending offensive letters to families of Australian soldiers killed in Afghanistan.

"As the siege unfolded yesterday, he sought to cloak his actions with the symbolism of the ISIL death cult," the prime minister said in his first press conference since the conclusion of the horrific siege.

With regard to the deadly incident, Abbott said "these events do demonstrate that even a country as free, as open and as generous as ours is vulnerable to acts of politically motivated violence."

"There is nothing more Australian than dropping in at the local cafe for a morning coffee and it's tragic beyond words that people going about their everyday business should have been caught up in such a horrific incident," he continued.

"Our hearts go out to all of those caught up in this appalling incident and their loved ones. On behalf of all Australians, I extend my sympathy to the families of the two hostages who died overnight," Abbott said.

The owner of the cafe, Swiss chocolate-maker Lindt, said that they were devastated by the loss of lives and that those wounded have to experience such trauma.

"Our thoughts and feelings are with the victims and their families who have been through an incredible ordeal, and we want to pay tribute to their courage and bravery," the company said in a statement.

Jane Needham, president of the New South Wales Bar Association, offered her condolence in a statement to Katrina Dawson, who was a Sydney lawyer.

"Katrina was one of our best and brightest barristers who will be greatly missed by her colleagues and friends," Needham said.

Throughout Tuesday morning, the public have been laying flowers near the cafe in Martin Place.

In September, Australia's government raised the country's terror warning level in response to the domestic threat posed by supporters of the Islamic State group. – Xinhua-SAnews.gov.za