Sydney gunman reportedly demands ISIS flag as some hostages escape

[We Keep Receipts 9,238]

Sydney (CNN) -- A gunman holding hostages in a Sydney cafe is said to be demanding an ISIS flag and a phone call with Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott.

The reported demands emerged after five hostages managed to flee the building, leaving an unconfirmed number of people still trapped inside during a standoff that has lasted more than 12 hours so far.

Hours into the siege, the gunman's requests were made through hostages who contacted several media organizations, CNN affiliate Sky News Australia reported.

Police said they were aware of the reports but declined to confirm what demands had been made.

Amid the crisis, hundreds of police officers, some of them armed with sniper rifles, shut down a usually bustling area in Australia's most populous city.

http://www.cnn.com/2014/12/15/world/asia/australia-sydney-hostage-situation/index.html?hpt=hp_t1

[JohnR! 5,495]

If there was ever a 'What The Cruz!!!' event.... What are these people thinking??????

[lostinblue 1,989]

Gunman who has up to 15 people hostage in Sydney cafe is a self-styled sheik from Iran who is on bail over the murder of his ex-wife, has been charged with multiple sexual assaults and sent hate-filled letters to families of dead soldiers

• Man Haron Monis has been named as the gunman holding up to 15 people hostage in a Sydney café
• The 49-year-old man lives in southwest Sydney, but is originally from Iran and a self-proclaimed sheik
• He was charged with accessory in the murder of his ex-wife - who was allegedly stabbed and set on fire on a flight of stairs in her western Sydney apartment block
• He was also arrested for the sexual assault of a 27-year-old woman in 2002 after luring her to his clinic following claims he was as 'spiritual healer'
• Monis received 300 community service hours for sending hate mail to the families of Australian dead soldiers
• The seige follows an unsuccessful attempt to have these charges overturned in the High Court on Friday
• Terror siege in central Sydney stretches into the night after gunman raids busy cafe at morning peak hour
• Witnesses described hostages as looking 'pained, strained' as drama enters its 12th hour
• Food was brought in to the hostages from the cafe kitchen as darkness fell, and the lights were turned off inside
• Five people, including three cafe workers, were able to flee to safety, leaving up to 15 people inside
• Gunman was described as 'extremely agitated' after learning some hostages had escaped
• He stormed the Lindt cafe in Martin Place during the morning rush hour stopped anyone from leaving
• He forced hostages to hold up black flag with white writing in Arabic, an emblem linked to terror groups
• Police commanders say they will be patient while no one has been hurt and want to end the siege

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2873855/Gunman-takes-hostages-cafe-Sydney.html#ixzz3LyijMCJl

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[Hilarious Clinton 452]

Has anyone checked Tim McVeigh's grave? This could be his reanimated corpse. Because we all know the bad guy is not a ######,

[lostinblue 1,989]

One sharp shooter could have ended it long ago .

[Transborderwife 4,666]

Has anyone checked Tim McVeigh's grave? This could be his reanimated corpse. Because we all know the bad guy is not a ######,

He doesn't have one...his ashes were scattered. Conspiracy

[We Keep Receipts 9,238]

Has anyone checked Tim McVeigh's grave? This could be his reanimated corpse. Because we all know the bad guy is not a ######,

Not a what?

[lostinblue 1,989]

Too bad no one at that coffee shop had been carrying concealed. Aussies turning in their guns doesn’t look so smart now

[GandD 5,966]

Too bad no one at that coffee shop had been carrying concealed. Aussies turning in their guns doesnt look so smart now

I don't think you measure success or failure of the Australian gun laws by this one incident. But that's just me.

[JohnR! 5,495]

They still look smarter than the gun nuts in America...

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/12/15/gun-violence-australia-sydney_n_6329158.html

In 2012, Australia saw 40 murders by firearm, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics. This was a five-year high. Australia's gun homicide rate for the year was .20 per 100,000 residents, according to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, or UNODC.

Compare that to the United States, which according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, saw 11,622 homicides by firearm in 2012. The U.S. gun homicide rate for the year was 2.2 per 100,000 residents, according to UNODC.

Too bad no one at that coffee shop had been carrying concealed. Aussies turning in their guns doesn’t look so smart now

[Trumplestiltskin 5,791]

I don't think you measure success or failure of the Australian gun laws by this one incident. But that's just me.

You do if you're looking to score points in a cheap and crass way. The idea that anyone should adopt the US model when the country as a whole has the highest rates of gun related murder in the developed world simply beggars belief.