Sydney -- [Breaking news update at 12:14 p.m.]
Australian special forces
and police stormed the Lindt cafe in Sydney early Tuesday from two
directions, and the hostage-taker was shot and killed, a national
security source in the United States told CNN. There were at least nine
people in the building at the time, the source said. The gunman was
wearing a thick black vest and law enforcement was concerned it could
contain explosives, the source said. An ordnance team cleared the
building and checked the gunman, the source said. No information was
given on whether any explosives were found.
[Previous story, posted at 11:26 a.m.]
-- Australian
police stormed the cafe where a self-styled Muslim cleric had been
holding hostages early Tuesday, ending a crisis that had shut down
central Sydney for hours.
"Sydney siege is over." New South Wales police announced on Twitter. "More details to follow."
Police have not commented
on casualties in the raid, but Australian media reported that some
people may have died and others may have been injured. Police have not
disclosed the fate of the gunman, identified by an official with direct
knowledge of the situation as Man Haron Monis. It was unknown if any
police were injured.
Hundreds of police
officers, including snipers, surrounded the Lindt Chocolate Cafe in
Sydney's central business district shortly after the gunman took over
the building at 10 a.m. Monday (6 p.m. ET on Sunday).
Chilling images from
Australian media on Monday showed people, believed to be hostages, with
their hands pressed against the cafe's windows. They were holding up a
black flag with Arabic writing on it reading, "There is no God but God
and Mohammed is the prophet of God."
Five hostages sprinted
out of the cafe toward heavily armed police officers several hours into
the standoff, sending the gunman into an agitated tirade, according to
an Australian reporter.
Chris Reason, a
correspondent for CNN affiliate Seven Network, said the gunman became
"extremely agitated" when he realized what had happened and "started
screaming orders" at the remaining hostages.
Reason said he could see
the gunman pacing past the cafe's windows from his vantage point at the
network's nearby offices. He described the man as unshaven, wearing a
white shirt and black cap and carrying a shotgun.
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