Police Enter Lindt Coffee Shop, Ending Sydney Siege; Gunman and One Other Dead, Three Seriously Injured

Could have been worse.

The gunman who held hostage at least a dozen people for up to 17 hours, is one of two reportedly killed in a dramatic shoot-out at a Sydney cafe during the early hours of Tuesday which abruptly ended the seige.

Police fired automatic weapons and lobbed stun grenades before storming the Lindt cafe in Martin Place in the heart of the city's central business district.

There were that at least three others were injured, but this could not immediately be confirmed.

Now we enter the most important phase of a terrorist outrage: Being lectured for a month that Islam is Peace.

The gunman seems to be a lunatic.

The man who held more than a dozen people hostage, placing Sydney's CBD into lockdown is no stranger to the NSW police or the judiciary.

Self-described cleric, Man Haron Monis, 50, first came to attention of police when he penned poisonous letters to the family of dead Australian soldiers seven years ago.

Last year he was charged with being an accessory to the murder of his ex-wife and mother of two.

Most recently, he was charged with more than 50 allegations of indecent and sexual assault relating to time allegedly spent as a self-proclaimed "spiritual healer" who dealt with black magic at a premises in western Sydney more than a decade ago.

Monis, who has also gone by the names of Sheikh Haron and Mohammad Hassan Manteghi, was born in Iran and most recently has been living at Bexley North in Sydney's south.

Police at the scene of the siege on Monday night. Photo: Andrew Meares
He recently likened himself on his own webpage to Wikileaks founder Julian Assange, claiming the most recent charges against him have been laid for "political reasons".

...

He was charged in November 2013 with being an accessory before and after the fact to the murder of his ex-wife Noleen Hayson Pal.

Ms Pal was stabbed and set alight in a Werrington apartment block.

He may have been a lunatic, but he's a "cleric" in a religion that favors lunatics:

His former Facebook page, pulled down on Monday night as the siege continued had 14,725 "likes" when it was shut down.

posted by Ace at 12:06 PM

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