The 16-hour Sydney hostage crisis has ended with three deaths and four injuries, BBC reported.
The Sydney siege that started at 10 AM yesterday ended after 16 hours. The gunman identified as Man Haron Monis died, and Lindt café manager Tori Johnson and lawyer Katrina Dawson were killed. Four people were injured including one policeman who was hit in the cheek.
Johnson reportedly wrestled with the gunman before he was shot during the seige. Monis fell asleep during the long hours of the hostage drama and the manager attempted to wrestle with him. Johnson died at the scene with a gunshot wound.
Meawnhile, Dawson was killed in the middle of the firefight while protecting her pregnant friend. The lawyer went to Lindt Café to meet her two friends. She died on the way to the hospital.
The hostage drama ended at 2 AM local time on Tuesday when policemen stormed the c afe and exchanged bullets with the suspect. Monis released shots at the hostages while they were trying to escape as special forces entered the shop.
The Jihadi's back was turned and Sydney's police officers grabbed the chance to take down the gunman. The firefight lasted for two minutes, Mirror UK reported.
The hostages who escaped were taken into a safe place. A 19-year-old captive shared how the suspect dealt with them.
"I have had a shotgun put at my head and all [he] wants is [the demands met]. We are all afraid," he said.
Another captive, who was injured in the gun fight posted on Facebook while she was locked inside the Lindt Cafe. Marcia Mikhael wrote:
"I'm at the Lindt Cafe at Martin Place being held hostage by a member of the ISI. The man has asked for small and simple requests and none have been met. He is now threatening to start killing us. We need help right now. The man wants the world to know that Australia is under attack by the Islamic State. Please share. Please help."
The man Mikhael referring to is Monis, who previously sent offensive letters to mock family members left by the Australian victims of terrorism in India and war in Afghanistan. The suspect has been charged of sexual and indecent assaults that started when he became a supposed spiritual healer, The Guardian reported.
Prior to the Sydney Siege, Monis was charged as an accessory to the murder of his former wife. The suspect is a political and religious activist who took off to Australia in 1996 after opposing the Iranian government.
Meanwhile, some areas of Sydney's Central Business District have reopened. Commuters may check 2 Day FM for transportation and traffic updates.
