Lindt Cafe siege
The Lindt Café siege was a terrorist attack that occurred on 15–16 December 2014 when a lone gunman, Man Haron Monis, held ten customers and eight employees of a Lindt Chocolate Café hostage in the APA Building in Martin Place, Sydney, Australia.
Lindt Cafe siege
Martin Place, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Cafe staff and customers
Sawn-off shotgun
4[3]
18 hostages
Magistrate Michael Barnes, NSW State Coroner
The Sydney siege led to a 16-hour standoff, after which a gunshot was heard from inside and police officers from the Tactical Operations Unit (TOU) stormed the café. Hostage Tori Johnson was killed by Monis and hostage Katrina Dawson was killed by a police bullet ricochet in the subsequent raid. Monis was also killed. Three other hostages and a police officer were injured by police gunfire during the raid.[1][11][12]
Police have been criticised over their handling of the siege for not taking proactive action earlier, for the deaths of hostages at the end of the siege, and for the lack of negotiation during the siege. Hostage Marcia Mikhael called radio station 2GB during the siege and said, "They have not negotiated, they've done nothing. They have left us here to die."[13][14]
Early on, hostages were seen holding a Jihadist flag against the window of the café, featuring the shahādah creed.[15][16] Initially, many media organisations mistook it for the flag used by the Islamic State (IS); Monis later demanded that an IS flag be brought to him.[9][16][17] Monis also unsuccessfully demanded to speak to the Prime Minister of Australia, Tony Abbott, live on radio. Monis was described by Abbott as having indicated a "political motivation,"[9][10] but the eventual assessment was that the gunman was "a very unusual case—a rare mix of extremism, mental health problems and plain criminality."[18]
In the aftermath of the siege, Muslim groups issued a joint statement in which they condemned the incident,[19] and memorial services were held in the city at the nearby St Mary's Cathedral and St James' Church.[20] Condolence books were set up in other Lindt cafés and the community turned Martin Place into a "field of flowers."[21] The Martin Place Lindt café was severely damaged during the police raid, closed afterwards, then renovated for reopening in March 2015.[22][23]
Events[edit]
Prior to event[edit]
An anonymous call was made to Australia's anti-terrorism hotline 48 hours before the siege, raising concerns about the content of Monis's website. On his website, Monis had pledged allegiance to "the caliph of the Muslims", believed to be referring to Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, and denounced moderate Islam. It has been reported that the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation followed up on the call by reviewing the website and Monis's posts on social media but found nothing to indicate that he was likely to commit an act of violence.[24]
Hostages[edit]
Authorities did not release an estimate of the number of hostages inside the café during the siege. After the siege, a total of 18 hostages was confirmed—eight staff and ten customers of the café including lawyers and Westpac employees with offices close by.[84] Initial estimates varied, with some significantly overestimating the number.[4]
Tori Johnson, the 34-year-old manager of the café, died after being shot in the head by Monis.[85][86]
Katrina Dawson, a 38-year-old barrister, was killed by crossfire when she was hit by seven police bullet fragments. Dawson was lying behind a chair that was hit by 10 bullets.[87]
Three hostages and TOU Officer B were wounded by police crossfire during the raid. The three hostages were Marcia Mikhael, who was shot in the leg; Robyn Hope, a 75-year-old woman who was shot in the shoulder; and Louisa Hope, her 52-year-old daughter, who was shot in the foot.[2]
All three were in a stable condition after treatment.[3] Paolo Vassallo, one of the five hostages who initially escaped the scene, was hospitalised for a pre-existing condition.[88]
The other hostages were identified as John O'Brien, Stefan Balafoutis, Elly Chen, Jieun Bae, Harriette Denny, Viswakanth Ankireddy, Joel Herat, Fiona Ma, Jarrod Hoffman, Puspendu Ghosh, Selina Win Pe, and Julie Taylor.[89]
Memorial services for Johnson and Dawson were held on 23 December: Johnson's in the morning at St Stephen's Uniting Church, Sydney, and Dawson's in the afternoon in the Great Hall of the University of Sydney.[90][91][92] Interviews with some of the hostages were later recorded for television and broadcast,[93] amid some controversy.[94][95][96]
Reactions[edit]
Leaders[edit]
The Prime Minister convened the National Security Committee of Cabinet to give briefings on the situation[15][123][124] and said "Australians should be reassured that our law enforcement and security agencies are well trained and equipped and are responding in a thorough and professional manner."[125] He later said, "The whole point of politically motivated violence is to scare people out of being themselves. Australia is a peaceful, open, and generous society. Nothing should ever change that and that's why I would urge all Australians today to go about their business as usual", and "Australians should be reassured by the way our law enforcement and security agencies responded to this brush with terrorism."[8]
The Premier of New South Wales, Mike Baird, addressed the media during the stand-off, and stated "we are being tested today... in Sydney. The police are being tested, the public is being tested, but whatever the test we will face it head on and we will remain a strong democratic, civil society. I have full confidence in the Police Commissioner and the incredible work of the NSW police force.[19][126]
The Lord Mayor of Sydney, Clover Moore, on the morning of 16 December, urged Australians to see this as a "one-off event", stating, "We're an inclusive multicultural community and we need to deal with this together".[127] Governor-General of Australia, Sir Peter Cosgrove, released a statement sympathising with the families, commending the work of the police involved, and urging Australians to "unite in our resolve to protect what we value most—our way of life, our care and respect for each other".[127]
