Last updated 11.45am , 16th December, 2014
Two hostages and the gunman at the centre of a 16 hour siege in central Sydney have died following a confrontation with police in the early hours of the morning.
The 50-year-old gunman – identified as Iranian-born, self-described cleric Man Haron Monis – was pronounced dead after he was shot during the confrontation with police at the Lindt Chocolate Cafe in Martin Place at about 2.10am. Two hostages, identified as 34-year-old cafe manager Tori Johnson and 38-year-old barrister Katrina Dawson, were pronounced dead after being taken to hospital.
Six other people were injured including a male police officer who suffered a non-life threatening wound to his face from gunshot pellets and five female hostages including a woman who was taken to hospital with a gunshot wound to her shoulder.
Prime Minister Tony Abbott has instructed that the Australian flag be flown at half-mast at all Commonwealth Government buildings “as a mark of respect and mourning for the innocent victims involved in the Martin Place siege”.
Mr Abbott, who is heading to Sydney today, said Australians should be “reassured by the way our law enforcement and security agencies responded to this brush with terrorism”.
“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 said.
“Our hearts go out to all of those caught up in this appalling incident and their loved ones…These events do demonstrate that even a country as free, as open, as generous and as safe as ours is vulnerable to acts of politically-motived violence but they also remind us that Australia and Australians are resilient and we are ready to respond.”
Mr Abbott said the perpetrator was “well-known” to commonwealth and state authorities and had “a long history of violent crime, infatuation with extremism and mental instability”. He said the man had sent offensive letters to Australian soldiers in Afghanistan and had been found guilty of related offences. Mr Abbott said the man had also posted graphic extremist material online.
“As the siege unfolded yesterday, he sought to cloak his actions with the symbolism of the ISIL death cult,” Mr Abbott said. “Tragically, there are people in our community ready to engage in politically motivated violence. The events in Martin Place also show that we are ready to deal with these people professionally and with the full force of law.”
NSW Premier Mike Baird said on Tuesday morning that Sydney had been “shaken by a tragedy that none of us could have ever imagined”.
“The values we held dear yesterday, we hold dear today,” he said. “They are the values of freedom, democracy and harmony. These defined us yesterday, they will define us today, they will define us tomorrow.”
“Today whilst we grieve, we must go about our usual business, we must work, we must talk to our family, we must talk to our friends. But I say to everyone in New South Wales, today we must come together like never before, we are stronger together.”
Flags were flying at half-mast on all NSW Government buildings on Tuesday while people had started laying floral tributes at Martin Place. Condolence books would be provided later today.
Large parts of central Sydney were shut-down on Monday after the gunman took people hostage in the cafe at about 9am. Some of the hostages were seen at one stage standing with their hands in the air with some pressing a black flag bearing an Islamic creed against the cafe’s windows. Five people escaped from the cafe during the afternoon.
The incident was accompanied by a range of security alerts across the city which resulted in numerous buildings – including the Sydney Opera House – being evacuated.
The National Security Committee of Cabinet was convened for briefings while world leaders including Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper, New Zealand Prime Minister John Key and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi have all expressed their support for those involved on Twitter while reports said US President Barack Obama had been briefed on the situation.
