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| Gunman Man Haron Monis, protesting charges against him earlier this year. |
Flowers shower the ground near a small cafe in a busy shopping district in Sydney, Australia, where two hostages are dead after a bloody climax to a sixteen hour ordeal. Among the dead are Tori Johnson, the cafe's manager, and a mother of three, Katrina Dawson. Mr. Johnson is being hailed a hero, for in the act that led to his death, he tried to wrestle the gun from the Islamic hostage-taker, Man Haron Monis, inside the Lindt cafe. The remaining captives fled the cafe after the sixteenth hour of captivity, when in the early morning hours the gunman began to fall asleep.
After the hostages fled the cafe, police went into action, storming the cafe. The gunman opened fire, and was killed during the confrontation. Aside from the death of the gunman, and the two hostages, five hostages were injured during the shootout. A police officer was injured when he received gun pellets to the face, but has been since released from the hospital.
The gunman, an immigrant from Iran named Man Haron Monis, has a history of criminal activity, and allegations of violence. Monis was a self-proclaimed Islamic cleric, who gained attention from authorities when be began sending hate mail to the families of Australian dead soldiers between 2007 and 2009. As a result of the criminal emails, Monis received 300 community service hours and a two-year good behavior bond.
Prior to taking hostages at the Lindt Cafe in Sydney, Monis was also charged as an accessory to the murder of his ex-wife. She was allegedly stabbed and set on fire on a flight of stairs in her western Sydney apartment block in November 2013.
In April of 2014, Monis was arrested for the sexual assault of a 27-year-old woman in 2002 after luring her to his clinic following claims he was as an expert in astrology, meditation and black magic. The charges piled up to over 40 as more victims came forward, but again the punishment applied was negligible.
Local Muslim leaders claim Monis's extreme expressions of Islam does not reflect the local Muslim community. Monis did not belong to a mainstream mosque. The connection to Islam that Monis held, however, is undeniable, and was self-proclaimed by Monis.
Prior to the early morning escape that led to the bloody conclusion of the crisis, five hostages had escaped through a side door of the cafe on Monday. Police did not storm the cafe after the escape of the other eleven hostages until they heard gunfire, and feared that hostages had been shot. The decision by police to make a move on the cafe was based on the determination that if police did not enter at that time, more lives would be lost.
The hostage crisis at the small cafe in Sydney has led to increased police presence in public places and transport hubs over the Christmas and New Year period.
Following the final bloody climax of the siege, a bomb disposal robot entered the cafe.
The hostage crisis follows Australia's entrance into the war against ISIS in the Middle East. During the episode, the gunman demanded an ISIS flag, and a conversation with Prime Minister Tony Abbott. Hostages were later forced to hold up the Islamic Shahada flag as they were pressed against the windows of the cafe. The flag's emblem represents the Islamic terrorist group Jabhat al-Nusra, which has joined forces with ISIS, a group that has taken control of territory in Syria and Iraq, proclaiming the region to be a new Islamic caliphate.
Prior to the early morning escape that led to the bloody conclusion of the crisis, five hostages had escaped through a side door of the cafe on Monday. Police did not storm the cafe after the escape of the other eleven hostages until they heard gunfire, and feared that hostages had been shot. The decision by police to make a move on the cafe was based on the determination that if police did not enter at that time, more lives would be lost.
The hostage crisis at the small cafe in Sydney has led to increased police presence in public places and transport hubs over the Christmas and New Year period.
Following the final bloody climax of the siege, a bomb disposal robot entered the cafe.
The hostage crisis follows Australia's entrance into the war against ISIS in the Middle East. During the episode, the gunman demanded an ISIS flag, and a conversation with Prime Minister Tony Abbott. Hostages were later forced to hold up the Islamic Shahada flag as they were pressed against the windows of the cafe. The flag's emblem represents the Islamic terrorist group Jabhat al-Nusra, which has joined forces with ISIS, a group that has taken control of territory in Syria and Iraq, proclaiming the region to be a new Islamic caliphate.
Across the street from the cafe in Sydney, Australia is The Seven Network newsroom. The television network was among the first to report the hostage situation, and among the first to be evacuated from the area. Nearby government offices, and the city's court buildings, were shut up tight during the crisis. The building across the street was cleared before the morning was over. People were evacuated through the basement.
The shopping area, Martin Place, was also the planned location of a terrorist plot in September, when a follower of Islam, Omarjan Azari, was arrested on terrorism charges, and planning on filming a public beheading of a random member of the public at the shopping location, and then covering their body in an Islamic State flag. Azari was arrested on September 18, and is due in court this week regarding bail application for his charges of preparing for an act of terrorism.
As an added note, Australia's strict gun laws did not prevent Monis from obtaining the firearms he used during the hostage standoff at the cafe in Sydney that resulted in the death of two hostages.
-- Political Pistachio Conservative News and Commentary
-- Political Pistachio Conservative News and Commentary
Three Dead in Bloody End to Siege - U.K. Daily Mail Online
Three Dead as Sydney Cafe Siege Ends - Al Jazeera
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