Australia, ISIS, hostages

[Theredandthewhite]

What the bloody hell is going on? Poor people

Fingers crossed they all leave unharmed

Reports that he's been shot and killed by police.

I saw three people come out on stretchers, one looked very seriously hurt. Another woman was carried out by police.

Sorry I meant stun grenade.

Hoping that all of the injured make it. The hostages that is. I don't give a damn for his welfare.
Their poor families are going through hell.

I hope he hasn't been killed (I hope no one has and it's just media speculation). The hostages and their families need to know why he has done this, and he needs to be held accountable for his actions. Death is almost too easy for him.

I think the hostages and their family's already know why his done this, because of the religion of peace!

Police have said siege is over. Update to follow - from sky news website.

Suggestion seems to be that although he is muslim this actually happened after his failed appeal for sending poison pen letters.

Just heard that two people have died, one of whom was the gunman.

I really don't think this is anything to do with religious ideals. He just sounds totally unhinged.

I was hoping there would be none dead except him

How can he make himself a sheik?

It seems the press knew considerably more about events than was reported at the time, and all co-operated with police requests not to broadcast.

It's all starting to come out now.

SKY are reporting that a hostage died. RIP.

And that the raid took place when it did because gunfire was heard from inside the cafe.

So sad. RIP to the poor hostage who has lost their life today.

The hostage taker, Man Monis has a string of convictions and allegations such as sending abusive letters to families of dead Australian soldiers, organising the murder if his wife and sexually assaulting 6 women who came to see him after he'd set himself up as a 'healer'. So a pretty dangerous and warped individual.

Such a tragedy. I've been glued to the news today.

The Guardian are still saying no confirmed injuries or deaths, hopefully that means there are none... It seems the gunman had already been condemned by Muslim leaders for other crimes before this even happened

Very sad. But thank God it's over. Obviously even one hostage killed is one too many but it could have been so much worse. RIP.

And it sounds like he is no loss to society.

Re #illridewithyou, I normally hate 'hashtag activism' but this is one of the very few occasions where I feel like that sort of thing might actually help - not necessarily in practical terms, but if I was a normal Muslim living there I would be comforted to know that not everyone was associating this with my whole religion and/or ethnic group.

BBC says that the reports of any deaths are currently uncomfirmed.

Gunman dead, one hostage shot, probably by him.
3 hostages seriously injured and in hospital.

Sorry, one hostage shot dead. :(

The gunman was one Man Haron Monis, a self-styled cleric Iranian refugee who had been in Australia from about 1995
Seems like the bloke was a really pleasant character - not - he was an Iranian refugee, who had been here about 20 years, but who has been in court several times for offences ranging to sending appallingly abusive letters to the families of Australian servicemen who had been killed in Afghanistan to being an accessory to the brutal murder of his exwife.

Do we know if the hostage was shot by him?