5 hostages escape from besieged Sydney cafe
World |
Motive of gunman who took people hostage in financial and shopping district remains unknown, police say
Five hostages have escaped from a Sydney cafe besieged by a gunman during Monday morning rush hour, according to local media.
The remaining hostages who include men and women but no children -- are being ordered to stand with their hands against the windows in rotations, 7NEWS reported.
Correspondent Chris Reason, reporting form the fourth floor of the networks office, tweeted that the unshaven gunman had what appeared like a pump-action shotgun and was wearing a white shirt and black cap. While police have declined to specify the number of people being held, estimates stand at around 15.
According to local media, the suspect has been identified as a 50-year-old self-proclaimed cleric, Haron Monis, who moved to Australia in 1996.
He is currently on bail for a number of charges, including sending letters to the families of Australian soldiers who lost their lives in Afghanistan between 2007 and 2009, accusing them of being murderers.
In November 2013, he was charged with being an accessory to the murder of his ex-wife, who was reportedly stabbed and set on fire, the Sydney Morning Herald reported. His girlfriend, Amirah Droudis, has been charged with the murder.
The latest charges against Monis came this April over his alleged sexual assault of a woman in Sydney in 2002.
Last Friday, he failed to have the charges regarding the letters to soldiers families overturned, according to SMH.
Three people had exited the building in the Martin Place plaza approximately six hours after the siege began at around 09.45 a.m., and another two hostages -- women employees -- were later seen fleeing the Lindt Chocolat Cafe in the citys financial and shopping district.
Earlier, footage of hostages forced to hold a black flag with Arabic script believed to be the Islamic declaration of faith had been broadcast on television based on video shot through the cafes windows.
Andrew Scipione, New South Wales police commissioner, told an evening press conference no one had been injured in the incident. We have the very best negotiators in the world, on the job, right now, he said.
Declining to provide information about the gunmans identity, he added, were not in the business of speculating, were in the business of investigating.
Amid speculations about the gunman and his possible group affiliation, a hashtag #illridewithyou has started trending as concerned Twitter users are offering to commute to work Tuesday with Muslims.
Police have ordered that the contact some hostages have made with media outlets not be broadcast in order not to put their safety into risk, the Australian reported.
Our approach is to resolve this peacefully. It might take a bit of time but that is our approach, Catherine Burn, the state's deputy police commissioner, said. What we are seeing now is this unevolving as a negotiation that the NSW Police is undertaking with the person who is in the premises.
In a statement, Prime Minister Tony Abbott called the incident very disturbing, saying it is profoundly shocking that innocent people should be held hostage by an armed person claiming political motivation.
Stating that New South Wales police and agencies had responded with great professionalism, he added, We are a free, open and generous people and today we have responded to this in character.
Meanwhile, the countrys Grand Mufti has condemned the hostage situation, releasing a statement saying: The Grand Mufti and the Australian National Imam Council condemn this criminal act unequivocally and reiterate that such actions are denounced in part and in whole in Islam.
The Australian cited Rehin Ghauri, former president of the countrys Federation of Islamic Councils, as expressing his concern for his Australian brothers and sisters.
We along [with] the wide Australian society await the results of the investigation about the identity of the perpetrators and their underlying motivations behind the criminal act, he said. Holding people hostage like this is totally, absolutely and honestly un-Islamic.
Residents have been urged to avoid the Martin Plaza area. The Australian reported that as evening approached, tents had been set up nearby in Sydneys central business district as part of counter terrorism efforts by the police force, emergency services and the Department of Community Services.
Anadolu Agency
The remaining hostages who include men and women but no children -- are being ordered to stand with their hands against the windows in rotations, 7NEWS reported.
Correspondent Chris Reason, reporting form the fourth floor of the networks office, tweeted that the unshaven gunman had what appeared like a pump-action shotgun and was wearing a white shirt and black cap. While police have declined to specify the number of people being held, estimates stand at around 15.
According to local media, the suspect has been identified as a 50-year-old self-proclaimed cleric, Haron Monis, who moved to Australia in 1996.
He is currently on bail for a number of charges, including sending letters to the families of Australian soldiers who lost their lives in Afghanistan between 2007 and 2009, accusing them of being murderers.
In November 2013, he was charged with being an accessory to the murder of his ex-wife, who was reportedly stabbed and set on fire, the Sydney Morning Herald reported. His girlfriend, Amirah Droudis, has been charged with the murder.
The latest charges against Monis came this April over his alleged sexual assault of a woman in Sydney in 2002.
Last Friday, he failed to have the charges regarding the letters to soldiers families overturned, according to SMH.
Three people had exited the building in the Martin Place plaza approximately six hours after the siege began at around 09.45 a.m., and another two hostages -- women employees -- were later seen fleeing the Lindt Chocolat Cafe in the citys financial and shopping district.
Earlier, footage of hostages forced to hold a black flag with Arabic script believed to be the Islamic declaration of faith had been broadcast on television based on video shot through the cafes windows.
Andrew Scipione, New South Wales police commissioner, told an evening press conference no one had been injured in the incident. We have the very best negotiators in the world, on the job, right now, he said.
Declining to provide information about the gunmans identity, he added, were not in the business of speculating, were in the business of investigating.
Amid speculations about the gunman and his possible group affiliation, a hashtag #illridewithyou has started trending as concerned Twitter users are offering to commute to work Tuesday with Muslims.
Police have ordered that the contact some hostages have made with media outlets not be broadcast in order not to put their safety into risk, the Australian reported.
Our approach is to resolve this peacefully. It might take a bit of time but that is our approach, Catherine Burn, the state's deputy police commissioner, said. What we are seeing now is this unevolving as a negotiation that the NSW Police is undertaking with the person who is in the premises.
In a statement, Prime Minister Tony Abbott called the incident very disturbing, saying it is profoundly shocking that innocent people should be held hostage by an armed person claiming political motivation.
Stating that New South Wales police and agencies had responded with great professionalism, he added, We are a free, open and generous people and today we have responded to this in character.
Meanwhile, the countrys Grand Mufti has condemned the hostage situation, releasing a statement saying: The Grand Mufti and the Australian National Imam Council condemn this criminal act unequivocally and reiterate that such actions are denounced in part and in whole in Islam.
The Australian cited Rehin Ghauri, former president of the countrys Federation of Islamic Councils, as expressing his concern for his Australian brothers and sisters.
We along [with] the wide Australian society await the results of the investigation about the identity of the perpetrators and their underlying motivations behind the criminal act, he said. Holding people hostage like this is totally, absolutely and honestly un-Islamic.
Residents have been urged to avoid the Martin Plaza area. The Australian reported that as evening approached, tents had been set up nearby in Sydneys central business district as part of counter terrorism efforts by the police force, emergency services and the Department of Community Services.
Anadolu Agency
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