Police: 3 Dead After Sydney Hostage Crisis

After more than 16 hours, police ended the Sydney siege that saw a man hold customers & employees of the Lindt Cafe hostage. Photo: Getty

Three people, including the gunman, were killed early Tuesday in the Sydney hostage situation, authorities have confirmed.

A male police officer is also in "good condition" in the hospital after being injured by a gunshot wound to the face, Commissioner Andrew P. Scipione of the New South Wales Police said in a news conference.

The two hostages killed in the Sydney siege have been identified as the manager of the Lindt cafe, Tori Johnson, 34, and Sydney lawyer, 38-year-old Katrina Dawson.

It was unclear whether Katrina Dawson - a mother of three young children - died before or during the shootout between police and lone gunman.

Johnson, 34, is being praised as the hero of the hostage situation after unconfirmed reports surfaced that the cafe manager died while wrestling the gun from the gunman.

It is understood the 34-year-old decided to take action when the hostage-taker began to doze off after the siege had been ongoing for 17 hours.

PHOTOS: Sydney Under Siege: Harrowing Photos From Sydney's Darkest Day

PHOTOS: Sydney Under Siege: Harrowing Photos From Sydney's Darkest Day

While Scipione has not confirmed whether the hostages killed were shot by the gunman or caught in the crossfire after police stormed the Lindt Chocolat Cafe in downtown Sydney, he said officers entered the premises after hearing the sound of gunshots.

"Until we were involved in this emergency action, we believed no one had been injured," he said. "That changed. We changed our tactic."

A flurry of loud bangs erupted as a swarm of heavily armed police stormed inside the chocolate cafe where a gunman had been holding 17 people hostage for more than 16 hours.

PHOTOS: Sydney Under Siege: Harrowing Photos from Sydney's Darkest Day

The police swooped in shortly after five or six hostages were seen running out of the cafe. One weeping woman could be seen being carried out by the officers.

The dramatic scene unfolded shortly after the gunman's apparent identity was unveiled by local media.

The gunman had taken the hostages during Monday morning rush hour. Two people inside the cafe earlier held up a flag with an Islamic declaration of faith that has often been used by extremists, raising fears that a terrorist incident was playing out in the heart of Australia's biggest city.

The first three people ran out of the Lindt Chocolat Cafe in downtown Sydney six hours into the hostage crisis, and two women sprinted from a fire exit into the arms of waiting police shortly afterward. Both women were wearing aprons with the Lindt chocolate logo, indicating they were cafe employees.

PHOTOS: Sydney Under Siege: Harrowing Photos from Sydney's Darkest Day

As the siege entered its 13th hour Monday night, basic questions remained unanswered. Police refused to say how many hostages were inside the cafe, what they believed the gunman's motives might be, whether he had made any demands or whether the hostages who fled the cafe escaped or were released.

"I would like to give you as much as I can but right now that is as much as I can," New South Wales state police Commissioner Andrew Scipione said. "First and foremost, we have to make sure we do nothing that could in any way jeopardize those still in the building."

Police were negotiating with the gunman and said they had no information to suggest anyone had been hurt. Scipione said they had not confirmed whether the siege was related to terrorism.

PHOTOS: Sydney Under Siege: Harrowing Photos from Sydney's Darkest Day

"Our only goal tonight and for as long as this takes is to get those people that are currently caught in that building out of there safely," he said.

Channel 10 news said it received a video in which a hostage inside the cafe had relayed the gunman's demands. The station said police requested they not broadcast it, and Scipione separately asked all media that might be contacted by the gunman to urge him instead to talk to police.

The drama began around 9:45 a.m. in Martin Place, a plaza in the heart of the city's financial and shopping district that is packed with holiday shoppers this time of year. Many of those inside the cafe would have been taken hostage as they stopped in for their morning coffees.

Television video shot through the cafe's windows showed several people with their arms in the air and hands pressed against the glass, and two people holding up a black flag with the Shahada, or Islamic declaration of faith, written on it.

The Shahada translates as "There is no god but God and Muhammad is his messenger." It is considered the first of Islam's five pillars of faith, and is similar to the Lord's Prayer in Christianity. It is pervasive throughout Islamic culture, including the green flag of Saudi Arabia. Jihadis have used the Shahada in their own black flag.

even Network television news staff watched the gunman and hostages for hours from a fourth floor window of their Sydney offices, opposite the cafe.

The gunman could be seen pacing back and forth past the cafe's windows. Reporter Chris Reason said the man carried what appeared to be a pump-action shotgun, was unshaven and wore a white shirt and a black cap.

Earlier in the day, network staff counted about 15 different faces among hostages forced up against the windows.

"The gunman seems to be sort of rotating these people through these positions on the windows with their hands and faces up against the glass," Reason said in a report from the vantage point. "One woman we've counted was there for at least two hours — an extraordinary, agonizing time for her surely having to stand on her feet for that long."

"When we saw that rush of escapees, we could see from up here in this vantage point the gunman got extremely agitated as he realized those five had got out. He started screaming orders at the people, the hostages who remain behind," he added.

Reason later reported that staff brought plates of food from a kitchen at the rear of the cafe and the hostages were fed.

Lights in Cafe Switched Off
As night set in, the lights inside the cafe were switched off. Armed police guarding the area outside fitted their helmets with green-glowing night goggles.

St. Vincent's hospital spokesman David Faktor said a male hostage was in satisfactory condition in the hospital's emergency department. He was the only one of the freed hostages to be taken to a hospital, and Scipione said he was being treated for a pre-existing condition.

Hundreds of police blanketed the city, streets were closed and offices evacuated. The public was told to stay away from Martin Place, site of the state premier's office, the Reserve Bank of Australia, and the headquarters of two of the nation's largest banks. The state parliament house is a few blocks away.

Workers in the cordoned-off area were asked to stay home Tuesday, indicating police believe the hostage drama could stretch into the next day.

"This is a very disturbing incident," Prime Minister Tony Abbott said. "It is profoundly shocking that innocent people should be held hostage by an armed person claiming political motivation."

Lindt Australia posted a message on its Facebook page thanking the public for its support.

"We are deeply concerned over this serious incident and our thoughts and prayers are with the staff and customers involved and all their friends and families," the company wrote.

Infosys, India's second-largest IT services provider, confirmed that one of its employees was among the hostages. The staffer's family has been informed, it said.

Terror Warning Raised
Australia's government raised the country's terror warning level in September in response to the domestic threat posed by supporters of the Islamic State group. Counterterror law enforcement teams later conducted dozens of raids and made several arrests in Australia's three largest cities — Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane. One man arrested during a series of raids in Sydney was charged with conspiring with an Islamic State leader in Syria to behead a random person in downtown Sydney.

The Islamic State group, which now holds a third of Syria and Iraq, has threatened Australia in the past. In September, Islamic State group spokesman Abu Mohammed al-Adnani issued an audio message urging so-called "lone wolf" attacks abroad, specifically mentioning Australia. Al-Adnani told Muslims to kill all "disbelievers," whether they be civilians or soldiers.

One terrorism expert said the situation appeared to be that of a "lone wolf" making his own demands, rather than an attack orchestrated by a foreign jihadist group.

"There haven't been statements from overseas linking this to extremist groups outside the country — that is quite positive," said Charles Knight, lecturer in the Department of Policing, Intelligence and Counter Terrorism at Australia's Macquarie University.

"The individual or individuals involved didn't kill early, which is part of the pattern of some recent international attacks...It seems to be shifting more into the model of a traditional hostage situation, rather than the sort of brutal attacks we've seen overseas."