Sydney siege: what we know, don’t know and bumping into the gunman’s hard centre
To Sydney, where a bearded gunman is holding around 12 people hostage at the Lindt Chocolat Cafe in Martin Place. The hostages are holding aloft an Islamic flag.
The Sun translates:
“There is no God but Allah and Muhammad is the messenger of God.”
Five people have escaped.
Lindt Australia CEO Steve Loane says the number of hostages might be far higher:
“The best information is that there’s like 40 or 50 people in there, customers and employees included. That’s a rough figure.”
Reactions are fierce:
The eyewitness:
Craig Stoker saw the man, who is now hiding behind women in the chocolate shop:
“He was wearing a black T-shirt with white writing on it and a headband and carrying a blue bag.
“The bag bumped into me and there was something hard in it.
“I said ‘watch where you are f***ing going’.
“He turned round and said ‘do you want me to shoot you too?’ I looked into his eyes and they were crazy,” said Mr Stoker, a father of four from Eastlakes. “I was pretty freaked out.”
The bearded man was with two others who were similarly dressed.
No-one has been physically hurt. But the Sun says:
Hostages were said to have been forced into each window of the cafe with their hands up against the glass. And footage looked to show a woman hostage running her finger across her throat in a chilling gesture.
The Mail looks at the man’s weaponry:
police ‘make contact’ with Muslim extremist armed with a shotgun, machete and suspected bomb
A suspected bomb is not an actual bomb.
Posted: 15th, December 2014 | In: Reviews Comment | TrackBack | Permalink