Hostage Situation in Sydney, Australia

[LChoy]

Whoa, developing situation in Australia
Gunman (or Gunmen) has taken hostages in a chocolate store near the city centre. Hostages being used as human shields against the windows, and a Arabic style is presented as well

More than two dozen hostages are being held inside a central Sydney, Australia cafe where a black flag with white Arabic writing could be seen in the window, local television showed on Monday, raising fears of an attack linked to Islamic militants.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/world/hostage...cafe-1.2873068

[scottish_flame]

Just snipe the guy when he comes in clear view

Mod Edit: Let's not go down that path

[HelloHockeyFans]

They still haven't been able to communicate with the terrorists inside yet.

[ExiledFlamesFan]

Scary stuff. Hoping for the best. These don't usually end well.

[HelloHockeyFans]

From Reddit:

At least 2 gunmen, suspected more right now. (unconfirmed if they have guns, however) [00:00 GMT]

The gunmen forced 2 female hostages to press themselves against the glass window of the cafe while holding up a black Islamic flag that resembles the generic black standard used by extremist groups, including ISIS back in 2007. This is NOT the same flag as the ISIS flag. [00:02 GMT]

There are at least 13 hostages right now, possibly more. [00:04 GMT]

Airspace over Sydney reserved for military/police, other traffic diverted (confirmed) [00:09 GMT]

Reports of threats made against other places in Sydney according to ABC24 (CONFIRMED). [00:14GMT]

Reports that one of the gunmen is wearing a backpack and some sort of a vest. (unconfirmed) [00:24 GMT]

Suspicious package at Sydney opera house, building fully evacuated (unconfirmed). [00:25 GMT]

Gunmen have made demands on live radio to speak to the Australian Prime Minister. [00:30 GMT]

A middle-aged looking gunman has been witnessed through the window by ABC24 [00:39 GMT] (unconfirmed).

Possibly a second gunman witnessed through the window wearing a black headband with white writing in Arabic on it (unconfirmed) [00:42 GMT]

Australian PM's office releases message that the national security cabinet is holding an emergency meeting (hostage crisis confirmed), possibly Australian military response. [00:42 GMT]

Sydney harbor bridge closed down (confirmed by Channel 7 news) [00:51 GMT]

2 gunmen confirmed by unidentified Lindt chocolate cafe employee who managed to escape [00:54 GMT]

Hostages being held in 2 different groups according to unidentified Lindt chocolate cafe employee who managed to escape [00:55 GMT]

Channel7 news reporting that an individual walked into a Sydney hospital with a suspicious package, and then disappeared and is currently missing. [00:57 GMT]

CEO of Lindt Australia now saying that there are currently 40-50 hostages being held (unconfirmed) [00:58 GMT]

PM Tony Abbott holding press conference. [1:55 GMT]

http://www.reddit.com/r/worldnews/co..._martin_place/

[sharkov]

Hopefully the hostages come out unhurt and the hostage takers come out very hurt

[HelloHockeyFans]

Live feed from Australia:

http://www.abc.net.au/news/abcnews24/

[scottish_flame]

Hopefully nothing happens. Aussie SAS are some of the best in the business

[DiracSpike]

I love Sydney, world class city with great memories for me filled with friendly people, hopefully this ends well. Australia's been the subject of a lot of threats lately I'm not sure why Islamist terrorists seem to take such an issue with it.

[LChoy]

Wow unreal, just heard from a friend that was across the street when it first happened

Hoping for a successful conclusion to this.

Also intrigued with the Australian authorities not labelling the incident as terrorism just yet.

"We have not yet confirmed this is a terrorism related event, we are dealing with a hostage situation with an armed offender, and we're dealing with it accordingly," New South Wales Police Commissioner Andrew Scipione told reporters.

[sharkov]

https://mobile.twitter.com/newscomau...50480780914688 Hostages are reported to be running out of the building

[Mike F]

Is it just me, or does everyone featured on the Australian broadcast, from anchors, to reporters, to police, seem extremely calm right now?

[CaptainCrunch]

Originally Posted by DiracSpike

I love Sydney, world class city with great memories for me filled with friendly people, hopefully this ends well. Australia's been the subject of a lot of threats lately I'm not sure why Islamist terrorists seem to take such an issue with it.

Think about your question for a second. The Islamic extremists have an issue with every country that they see as westernized or Liberal democracies or have a hint of faith other then their twisted version of Islam.

[FlamesAllTheWay]

Originally Posted by Lchoy

Also intrigued with the Australian authorities not labelling the incident as terrorism just yet.

"We have not yet confirmed this is a terrorism related event, we are dealing with a hostage situation with an armed offender, and we're dealing with it accordingly," New South Wales Police Commissioner Andrew Scipione told reporters.

Maybe because they're still dealing with it and don't know yet?

Anyways, hopefully resolved shortly and safely.

[megatron]

Another site with a timeline:

http://www.smh.com.au/nsw/lindt-choc...15-1278cx.html

I live here and it's all over the news today. I don't work in the CBD (central business district -- basically downtown), but in North Sydney, another business district across the harbour bridge.

Latest updates are that a few hostages have escaped the store and the police/AFP have locked down the CBD. Also, some people in the surrounding office buildings haven't been let out yet and might have to stay there for the time being (it's 4:30pm now)

Hopefully everything is resolved peacefully.

[nik-]

Interesting how close that cafe is to the Consulate of Pakistan.

[HelloHockeyFans]

5 hostages have escaped. 3 / 5 were confirmed to have escaped and were not released. No updates on whether the last 2 also escaped vs. were released.

[Da_Chief]

^So is the NZ consulate and the US.

[HelloHockeyFans]

Here's a live feed from Reddit:

http://www.reddit.com/live/u2pwph99rvy6

[sharkov]

Originally Posted by HelloHockeyFans

5 hostages have escaped. 3 / 5 were confirmed to have escaped and were not released. No updates on whether the last 2 also escaped vs. were released.

I wonder if this will make the the hostage takers more desperate