Advertisement

We need your help now

Support from readers like you keeps The Journal open.

You are visiting us because we have something you value. Independent, unbiased news that tells the truth. Advertising revenue goes some way to support our mission, but this year it has not been enough.

If you've seen value in our reporting, please contribute what you can, so we can continue to produce accurate and meaningful journalism. For everyone who needs it.

Gunman dead, two other fatalities as police storm Sydney siege café

Seven hostages ran from the building — just seconds before police entered with stun grenades and live fire.

THE ARMED SIEGE at a café in Sydney’s business district has come to an end, after police stormed the building with stun grenades and live rounds.

Officers dressed in riot gear raided the building at around 2am local time.

New South Wales Police have confirmed that the gunman has been killed along with two others. Four others were injured as part of the police assault on the café.

The 50-year-old gunman was pronounced dead after being taken to hospital, as were a 34-year-old man and a 38-year-old woman.

Two women have been taken to hospital with non-life threatening injuries, while a male police officer suffered a wound to his face from gunshot pellets.

Another woman has been taken to hospital with a gunshot wound to her shoulder with another woman also  hospitalised as a precaution.

The sudden ending to the 16-hour siege came after a lull in activity. Police confirmed that a total of 17 people had been taken hostage.

It had been thought police were settling in for a long operation, and the lights were turned off in the Lindt café, which is located in the busy Martin Place shopping area.

Minutes before the police assault began, a group of five hostages ran from the scene with their hands in the air (below).

They were followed by another man, dressed in a white shirt, with his sleeves rolled up.

Another woman fled from the café, before sustained fire was heard on live TV broadcasts.

Police said in a press conference that armed police decided to enter the building “as a result of gunfire inside”.

They have also confirmed that no explosives were found inside the café.

Australian Prime Minster Tony Abbott has said that, “Australians should be reassured by how our security services dealt with this brush with terrorism.”

“As the siege unfolded yesterday he sought to cloak his actions with the symbolism of the Isil death cult,” 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 with the full force of the law.”

Broadcasters in Sydney had known the identity of the gunman since early on Monday.

His name was released shortly after nightfall, as 9 News and other outlets confirmed it was 49-year-old radical Muslim cleric Sheik Man Haron Monis.

The Iranian immigrant is a well-known figure to police and to the Australian public in general, and gained media attention in the past for a hate mail campaign protesting the presence of Australian troops in Afghanistan.

Abbott seemed to confirm the widely reported identity of the gunman as by saying that the dead hostage-taker was well-known to media and to police.

Last year, Monis was charged with being an accessory to the murder of his ex-wife and mother of two. More recently, according to the Sydney Morning Herald, he was charged with more than 50 allegations of indecent and sexual assault.

The charges related to time Monis allegedly spent as a self-proclaimed ‘spiritual healer’ in western Sydney more than a decade ago.

News organisations said they had been contacted by the gunman with demands, which police urged them not to broadcast.

A spokesperson for the Department of Foreign Affairs said following the conclusion of the siege there were no indications any Irish people had been caught up in it.

Martin Place is in Sydney’s financial centre — and houses several prominent buildings, including the New South Wales parliament, the US consulate, the country’s central bank and the Commonwealth Bank of Australia.

Many shops and offices in the area shut early due to the scare, with only a trickle of people walking along usually bustling streets.

The public office of the Irish Consulate was also closed earlier than usual, although diplomatic staff remained at the centre to monitor the situation and keep in contact with the Department of Foreign Affairs in Dublin, a spokesperson said.

Lockdown

The pre-Christmas siege of the Lindt chocolate cafe began on Monday morning, and triggered a continuing security lockdown as hundreds of armed police surrounded the site.

Early in the siege, hostages were forced to host a black Islamic banner to the window. A terrorism expert told the Sydney Morning Herald that it was not an Islamic State flag, but an older symbol that had been co-opted by jihadist groups.

Prime Minister Tony Abbott convened a national security meeting to deal with the “disturbing” development.

He said in a statement as the situation developed:

Yes, it has been a difficult day. Yes, it is a day which has tested us, but so far, like Australians in all sorts of situations, we have risen to the challenge.

US President Barack Obama was also briefed on the crisis, the White House said.

Some six hours into the siege, three men emerged from the cafe and ran for their lives.

Around an hour later two distraught women employees also fled.

Channel Seven reporter Chris Reason, whose office is opposite the cafe, tweeted:

“From inside Martin Place newsroom, we’ve counted around 15 hostages — not 50 — mix of women, men, young, old – but no children.

“We can see gunman is rotating hostages, forcing them to stand against windows, sometimes 2 hours at a time.” 

More than 40 Australian Muslim groups jointly condemned the hostage­-taking and the use of the flag, which they said had been hijacked by “misguided individuals that represent no one but themselves”.

The government in September raised its terror threat level and police conducted large­scale counter­terror raids across the country. Only two people were charged.

More than 70 Australians are believed to be fighting for Islamic militants in Iraq and Syria. At least 20 have died.

First published 3.40am; additional reporting by Christina Finn, Paul Hosford, Daragh Brophy and Sinead O’Carroll. Includes text from AFP.

Sydney siege: Terror alert not raised, flights operating as normal

Readers like you are keeping these stories free for everyone...
A mix of advertising and supporting contributions helps keep paywalls away from valuable information like this article. Over 5,000 readers like you have already stepped up and support us with a monthly payment or a once-off donation.

Close
352 Comments
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Bernard McWilliams
    Favourite Bernard McWilliams
    Report
    Jan 27th 2021, 6:50 AM

    Its a housing stock issue. In Barcelona, their council are literally seizing apartments that have been vacant for more than 3 months. The owners are given half the market value or offered a 90k-900k fine.. It will drastically cut out all this investment/AirBnB trollop. i.e. by corporations with large residential property portfolios. Fair play to them!

    122
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Alan Watts
    Favourite Alan Watts
    Report
    Jan 27th 2021, 8:48 AM

    @Bernard McWilliams: NOBODY should be profiting from owning a 2nd or 3rd house, why do you think so many politicians are landlords?

    49
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Darren Byrne
    Favourite Darren Byrne
    Report
    Jan 27th 2021, 7:54 AM

    It’s a landlords paradise

    52
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Jason Walsh
    Favourite Jason Walsh
    Report
    Jan 27th 2021, 8:54 AM

    @Darren Byrne: Only for those with no morals, not paying or avoiding tax and no morgage. i.e not the one off accidental landlord.

    48
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Vic's Burd
    Favourite Vic's Burd
    Report
    Jan 27th 2021, 9:41 AM

    @Darren Byrne: we are driving the accidental landlords out and the huge corporate vultures in. They are the only ones profiting from this mess, not the landlord with 1 or 2 houses.

    48
    See 3 more replies ▾
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute ed w
    Favourite ed w
    Report
    Jan 27th 2021, 9:55 AM

    @Darren Byrne: I wish it was. ha went turned a profit on my house in 6 years. because of cost of renovations and repairs. in the immortal words of p Flynn you should try it sometime.

    13
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Fr. Fintan Stack
    Favourite Fr. Fintan Stack
    Report
    Jan 27th 2021, 10:22 AM

    @ed w: The profit is an asset at the end. Even if tenants only pay for half the mortgage. That’s still a big profit.

    15
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute transik
    Favourite transik
    Report
    Jan 27th 2021, 11:20 AM

    @ed w: speak for yourself. paper thin walls with mold infestation all day every day. 5€ cilit bang favorite landlord “repair”

    Renovation is a big fancy word but reality hits you when your landlord sends a handyman with adidas bag full of silicone and daffer tape.

    Being labdlord in dub is like licence to print money and that’s a fact.

    10
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Neuville-Kepler62F
    Favourite Neuville-Kepler62F
    Report
    Jan 27th 2021, 6:31 AM

    Cost of Build is the root cause not Supply which is only a symptom.

    News Flash! EU Parliament voted on 21/01/2021:-
    - Housing costs should be kept affordable by law !!!!
    - Access to adequate housing should be a fundamental European right.
    - Call for an EU-wide goal to end homelessness by 2030
    - Access to affordable housing as an enforceable human right (like food or water).

    EU to the rescue again … Irish political system is inept or controlled by external forces.

    37% of Cost of Build of new homes is artificial due to levies and tax. No need.
    VAT €28,000
    LA Levy €15,000
    Social Housing contribution €5000
    Conveyancing €6000 .. you can do your own in other countries.
    ….

    63
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Gerrard
    Favourite Gerrard
    Report
    Jan 27th 2021, 11:17 AM

    So many people in Dublin paying 2k a month rent but can’t get a €1200 a month Mortgage

    40
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute PF
    Favourite PF
    Report
    Jan 27th 2021, 11:37 AM

    Surprising? Dealing with HAP is a total bureaucratic pain ( HAP admin is yet another self important QUANGO). Payments get cut off to property owner without notice or clear reason. Impossible to deal with. This is well known to agents. Never again

    17
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Fionn Darland
    Favourite Fionn Darland
    Report
    Jan 27th 2021, 8:58 AM

    Homeless figures down over 2,000 in the last 15 months (per Focus Ireland stats). This is great news for the 2,000 families involved.

    12
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Merlin Lancelot
    Favourite Merlin Lancelot
    Report
    Jan 27th 2021, 2:37 PM

    My personal experience in trying to rent anywhere within Co. Cork. If you bring up HAP it is impossible to get the place you want to rent.

    4
Submit a report
Please help us understand how this comment violates our community guidelines.
Thank you for the feedback
Your feedback has been sent to our team for review.
JournalTv
News in 60 seconds