the martin place siege ended shortly after 2am – the gunman shot a hostage and police immediately stormed the lindt cafe to prevent further casualties. two hostages are confirmed dead, several may be injured. some police have been injured by the gunmans shotgun pellets.
the man was identified earlier as man haron monis, known to the police for prior violent crimes. he was acting on his own.
it’s horrific but ended a lot better than it could have ended up. please be respectful of any australians upset by the goings on – it may seem small to those overseas but shootouts like this are not common at all here.
please keep the families of the injured and deceased hostages in your thoughts or prayers.