The Sydney hostage crisis in the heart of the central business district ended after 16 hours with three dead, including the gunman as reported by Mirror. Australian police stormed the Lindt Chocolate Café where self-described Muslim cleric, Man Haron Monis, has taken its customers hostage.
CNN identified 38-year old Katrina Dawson and 34-year old Tori Johnson as the two hostages who died inside the café. 50-year old hostage-taker Monis was also killed when authorities took on the building. Other people were injured including a police in action as a barrage of gunfire covered the café.
The siege began when Monis entered the café around 10 a.m. Acting alone, he held 17 diners hostage and forced some to hold a black flag bearing an Islamic symbol of faith by the window.
According to CNN, the Arabic inscription reads, "There is no God but God and Mohammed is the prophet of God." As the crisis continued, some five hostages were able to escape and sprint to the safety of police officers surrounding the area.
The breakout of the five upset Monis and he began barking orders to those remaining inside. He demanded a phone call be made to Australian Prime Minister through the hostages. Some of them took to social media to post his demands.
The siege continued until nightfall. Lights went out in the café as one of the hostages switched it off.
According to a report by ABC News, authorities have been working on taking the hostages out and around 12 of the original 17 have escaped before they stormed the building. New South Wales state police Commissioner Andrew Scipione said they heard gunshots fired inside the café, forcing them to attack.
"They made the call because they believed that at that time, if they didn't enter, there would have been many lives lost," he said.
The incident is not the first crime Monis had committed. Aside from numerous counts of sexual assault charges, he had been tried for harassing families of Australian troops killed in Afghanistan. In 2013, Monis, who was suspected of adopting the radical Sunni Islam theology, sent abusive letters to the families of killed Australian service men, calling them, "Hitler's soldiers."
Meanwhile, the Muslim community in Australia deplored the attack. In a statement issued on social media site Facebook by MUFTI of Australia, they "condemn the criminal act unequivocally and reiterate that such actions are denounced in part and in whole in Islam."
Authorities are scheduled to meet and discuss the violent incident further.
