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2014 Sydney hostage crisis
People in Martin Place near the Lindt Chocolate Café during the crisis
Location	Martin Place, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Coordinates	33°52′04.6″S 151°12′40″E / 33.867944°S 151.21111°E / -33.867944; 151.21111
Date	15–16 December 2014 9:44 a.m. – 2:31 a.m. (AEDT, UTC+11:00)
Target	Café staff and customers
Attack type	Hostage-taking
Weapons	Shotgun, machete
Deaths	3 (including the perpetrator)
Injured	4
Victims	17 hostages
Perpetrators	Man Haron Monis
Motive	Unconfirmed

On 15–16 December 2014, a lone gunman, Man Haron Monis, held hostage 17 customers and employees of a Lindt chocolate café located at Martin Place in Sydney, Australia. After a 16-hour standoff, during which areas of the Sydney central business district surrounding the site were cordoned off and nearby buildings locked down, police officers from the Tactical Operations Unit stormed the café upon hearing gunshots from inside. One hostage was shot dead by the gunman, who in turn was shot dead by police. Another hostage died of a heart attack during transport to hospital.

Early on, hostages were seen holding up a Jihadist black flag with the Islamic shahādah creed in Arabic. Initially the media mistook it for the flag used by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL). The gunman, who had history of criminal charges including sexual assault, and who was to be tried as an accessory in his wife's murder, was described as having claimed "political motivation".

Police treated the event as a terrorist attack and negotiated with Haron throughout the day. About 50 Muslim groups issued a joint statement in which they condemned the incident.

Events

Hostage-taking and negotiations

The crisis began at 9:44 a.m. AEDT on 15 December (22:44 UTC, 14 December) when Haron entered the Lindt Chocolate Café at 53 Martin Place, Sydney. The café is located directly across from the Seven News television studios, and nearby are the Reserve Bank of Australia, the headquarters of the Commonwealth Bank, Westpac bank, and Martin Place underground train station.

Hostages were seen holding up a jihadist black flag with the Arabic shahādah (an Islamic creed declaring, "There is no God but Allah and Muhammad is the messenger of God"). Some news reports initially mistook it for the flag used by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL).

Haron was described as bearded, wearing a white shirt and a black bandana, carrying a blue sports bag, and armed with a shotgun. One of the hostages was reportedly being used as a human shield by Haron. Prior to the siege, the automatic sliding doors of the café were disabled.

According to Sydney 2GB radio announcer Ray Hadley, Haron demanded to speak to the Prime Minister live on radio, although these reports are unconfirmed. There were also further reports that Haron stated there were four "devices" located around Sydney. However, the New South Wales Police Commissioner, Andrew Scipione, stated that none of the alleged devices were found during investigations.

Two female hostages made contact with media outlets and relayed Haron's demands to them, but the New South Wales Police Force requested that the demands not be published. When his demands were published they included meeting the Australian Prime Minister and receiving an ISIL flag.

Escape of hostages

At around 3:37 p.m., two hostages emerged from the front entrance of the building, followed by a third hostage, an employee, who ran out from a fire exit at the side of the building. Media outlets advised that the hostages were not released, but had escaped, though details were not immediately available. It was later confirmed by police that all three hostages escaped.

At around 4:58 p.m., two female hostages, both employees, ran from another entrance of the building, having also escaped, and were met by officers with the Tactical Operations Unit.

Raid and end of siege

At 2:08 a.m. on 16 December, between five and seven additional hostages fled from the building.

At 2:14 a.m., heavily armed Tactical Operations Unit police stormed the café following a barrage of flashbang grenades, after which further hostages ran from the building in two groups. The first emerged after the initial gunshots, while the second emerged after the following volley. Police declared the siege over soon after, later confirming that Haron died in the raid.

Hostages

Initial estimates indicated that there could be as few as 13 or as many as 50 people inside the café. Authorities did not release an estimate of the number of hostages inside the café during the siege. After the siege, a total of 17 hostages were confirmed.

On 16 December, one hostage, 34-year-old Tori Johnson, the manager of the café, who tried to wrestle the gun from the killer was shot to death, and 38-year-old barrister Katrina Dawson died of a heart attack on transport to hospital. Three others were wounded during the raid. One of the wounded hostages, a woman in her forties, suffered a gunshot wound to the leg and was treated at the Royal North Shore Hospital. Another hostage who initially escaped the scene was hospitalised for a pre-existing condition and was in satisfactory condition.

NSW Police released a statement on the condition of the injured victims. All are stable, and one has been discharged from hospital.

Evacuations and closures

After the siege began, people found above the café were evacuated by ladder. The Sydney Opera House was evacuated after a suspicious package was found; however, reports were unconfirmed by police. The US Consulate General in Sydney, located in Martin Place, was also evacuated.

Police advised people in the area bounded by Hunter, George, Elizabeth, and Macquarie Streets, bordering Martin Place, to remain indoors and away from windows. Commonwealth Bank, Westpac, and ANZ closed their CBD branches for the day. The State Library was also closed. Numerous other buildings, including David Jones stores, executive offices for the New South Wales Parliament, criminal courts for the Supreme Court, the Downing Centre, and "several city legal chambers" were evacuated, as were the facilities of the Seven Network, situated directly across from the café, thus forcing The Morning Show which was on air at the time off air

Some Sydney schools were put in "white level lockout" due to the hostage crisis, which meant that no school group was permitted to leave the school grounds.

Trains did not stop at Martin Place railway station during the hostage situation. Transport New South Wales advised people to stay away from the CBD. Road closures prevented southbound access to the Cahill Expressway, York Street, and Harbour Street, and northbound access to the Cahill Expressway, and all traffic was diverted to the Sydney Harbour Tunnel. On the morning of 16 December, road diversions remained in place and Martin Place train station remained closed.

Uber's fares for travel in Sydney during the crisis increased dramatically under the company's "surge pricing" policy - pricing during periods of high demand, which led to online backlash against the company.

Trains did not stop at Martin Place railway station during the hostage situation. Transport New South Wales advised people to stay away from the CBD.

Perpetrator

Man Haron Monis, born in Iran, and also known as Mohammad Hassan Manteghi, was identified as the perpetrator. Following the detention of his wife and children by Iranian authorities, he sought and was granted political asylum in Australia in 1996. He was born to a Shia Muslim family, but later in life converted to Sunni Islam. He was a self-proclaimed sheikh, not recognised as such in the Islamic community. He was marginalised by Australian Muslim religious authorities and mosques, both Shia and Sunni, for his extremist views and problematic personal and criminal history. It appears he came to espouse an extreme Islamist ideology on his own, and police and intelligence agencies have not identified any connections between Haron and international terrorist organisations.

Haron had an extensive record of prosecutions and criminal convictions, including accessory to murder before and after the fact (relating to the murder of his former wife), and other charges of sexual assault, aggravated indecent assault, common assault, and criminal use of the postal service to "menace, harass or cause offence".

On 12 December 2014, only three days before the hostage crisis, his appeal was rejected by the High Court of Australia in relation to his conviction for the criminal use of a carriage service to "menace, harass or cause offence". That conviction related to his protest against the presence of Australian troops in Afghanistan, which he expressed by sending letters to the families of soldiers killed there in which he called the soldiers murderers and urged the soldiers' families to petition the government to remove its troops from Afghanistan. One of the letters compared a dead soldier to a pig and called his body "contaminated". He also sent similar letters to the families of British soldiers and the mother of a government official killed by a bombing in Jakarta, Indonesia. Haron was arrested on charges of "using a postal or similar service to menace, harass or cause offence", to which he pleaded guilty in 2013. He was reportedly sentenced to probation and 300 hours of community service. He was also banned from using the Australian postal service in 2010. According to The Age, this conviction had consumed him for several years, and the hostage incident followed after he snapped at the unsuccessful, last-ditch attempt in the High Court to have that conviction overturned.

On the day prior to the siege, Haron posted to his website:

"Islam is the religion of peace, that's why Muslims fight against the oppression and terrorism of USA and its allies including UK and Australia. If we stay silent towards the criminals we cannot have a peaceful society. The more you fight with crime, the more peaceful you are. Islam wants peace on the Earth, that's why Muslims want to stop terrorism of America and its allies. When you speak out against crime you have taken one step towards peace."

Reactions

Government

The Prime Minister of Australia, Tony Abbott, convened the National Security Committee of Cabinet to give briefings on the situation. Abbott stated, "Australians should be reassured that our law enforcement and security agencies are well trained and equipped and are responding in a thorough and professional manner." He later said, "The whole point of politically motivated violence is to scare people out of being themselves. Australia is a peaceful, open, and generous society. Nothing should ever change that and that's why I would urge all Australians today to go about their business as usual."

The Premier of New South Wales, Mike Baird, addressed the media, stating "We are being tested today... in Sydney. The police are being tested, the public is being tested, but whatever the test we will face it head on and we will remain a strong democratic, civil society. I have full confidence in the Police Commissioner and the incredible work of the NSW police force."

The Lord Mayor of Sydney, Clover Moore, on the morning of 16 December, urged Australians to see this as a "one-off event", stating "we're an inclusive multicultural community and we need to deal with this together". Govenor-General of Australia, Sir Peter Cosgrove, released a statement sympathising with the families, commending the work of the police involved, and urging Australians to "unite in our resolve to protect what we value most – our way of life, our care and respect for each other".

Community

Due to concerns about an anti-Muslim backlash and attacks, a grassroots movement named #illridewithyou was started on social media in order to physically and emotionally support Muslims travelling alone on public transport.

On the morning of the siege, after police declaired the crisis to be over, a makeshift memorial began to take shape on Martin Place. Prime Minister Abbott and NSW Premier Baird were some of many to lay flowers at the memorial. Flags on all NSW government buildings, including the Sydney Harbour Bridge, also flew at half-mast to honour those who lost their lives at the café.

Muslim organisations

Sanier Dandan, president of the Lebanese Muslim Association, informed ABC News that Australian Muslim leaders were meeting online for discussions on how the Muslim community could help with the crisis. He also added that it was not known if the perpetrator or perpetrators were linked to the Australian Muslim community, saying, "Regardless we have a hostage situation. Whether he is someone who belongs to the Australian Muslim community or not, we are still waiting for information to be provided by police and based on that if there's something the Muslim community can do or assist, we are there." Ibrahim Abu Mohamed, the Grand Mufti of Australia, also condemned the incident in a released statement. During the afternoon of 15 December, around 50 Muslim groups issued a joint statement in which they condemned the incident.

International

World leaders including United States President Barack Obama were briefed on the event. A spokesman for the Canadian Minister of Foreign Affairs, John Baird, said, "We urge all Canadians in Sydney to use extra precaution and limit their movements as authorities handle this situation. We have offered Australia any assistance Canada can provide."

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi stated "Such acts are inhuman and deeply unfortunate. I pray for everyone's safety." The Israeli embassy in Australia stated that it stands with Australia in the face of terror and is closely monitoring the situation. New Zealand Prime Minister John Key and UK Prime Minister David Cameron also expressed their concern about the siege.

Iran Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman, Marzieh Afkham, strongly condemned the taking of hostages as "inhuman", stating that the Australian authorities were repeatedly warned about Haron.

See also

• Crime in Australia
• Terrorism in Australia
• 2014 Australian terror raids

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External links

• Media related to 2014 Sydney hostage crisis at Wikimedia Commons

• Attacks in 2014
• 2014 crimes
• 2014 in Australia
• 21st century in Sydney
• Crime in Sydney
• Hostage taking
• Terrorist incidents in Australia
• Terrorist incidents in 2014