Sydney hostage standoff
Members of the public look at thousands of floral tributes placed near the cafe in central Sydney, Dec. 16, 2014 where hostages were held for over 16-hours.
Sydney
Members of the Australian Muslim community pray after placing floral tributes amongst thousands of others near the Lindt cafe, where hostages were held for over 16-hours, in central Sydney, Dec. 16, 2014. Heavily armed Australian police stormed the Sydney cafe early on Tuesday morning and freed a number of hostages being held there at gunpoint, in a dramatic end to a 16-hour siege in which three people including the attacker were killed.
Sydney
A woman places a floral tribute for those who died in the Lindt Chocolat Cafe siege, near the site, at Martin Place in Sydney, Dec. 16, 2014.
Heavily armed Australian police stormed the cafe in central Sydney early Tuesday and freed a number of hostages being held there at gunpoint, in a dramatic end to a 16-hour siege in which three people were killed, including the hostage taker, and four wounded.
Sydney
Sydney resident Kate Golder cries as she observes the site of Lindt Chocolat Cafe siege after it ended in Martin Place, in Sydney, Dec. 16, 2014.
Sydney
A bouquet rests on the ground inside a secured area at the scene of the Lindt Chocolat Cafe siege at Martin Place after it ended in Sydney, early Dec. 16, 2014.
Sydney
Women comfort each other at the site of a siege at the Lindt Chocolat Cafe siege ended, Dec. 16, 2014.
Sydney
Hostages run towards armed tactical response police as they run to freedom from the Lindt Chocolat Cafe under siege at Martin Place in the central business district of Sydney, early Tuesday, Dec. 16, 2014.
The siege ended with three people dead, including the hostage taker, after police raided the building.
Sydney
A injured hostage is carried to an ambulance after shots were fired at Lindt Chocolat cafe at Martin Place in the central business district of Sydney, early Tuesday, Dec. 16, 2014. Rob Griffith/AP Photo
Sydney
A injured hostage is carried to an ambulance after shots were fired during a siege at Lindt Chocolat Cafe at Martin Place in the central business district of Sydney, early Tuesday, Dec. 16, 2014.
Sydney
A injured hostage is wheeled to an ambulance after shots were fired during at Lindt Chocolat Cafe at Martin Place in the central business district of Sydney early Tuesday, Dec. 16, 2014.
Sydney
Armed tactical response officers enter the building after shots were fired during a siege at Lindt Chocolat Cafe in the central business district of Sydney, early Tuesday, Dec. 16, 2014.
A flurry of loud bangs erupted as a swarm of heavily armed police stormed the chocolate cafe where a gunman had been holding an unknown number of people hostage for more than 16 hours. The police swooped in shortly after five or six hostages were seen running out of the cafe in downtown Sydney early Tuesday morning.
Sydney
Police officers wearing armored suits walk with a robot towards Lindt Chocolat Cafe at Martin Place in central Sydney, Dec. 16, 2014.
Australian security forces on Tuesday stormed the Sydney cafe where several hostages were being held at gunpoint, in what looked like the dramatic denouement to a standoff that had dragged on for more than 16 hours. Jason Reed/Reuters
Sydney
A bomb disposal officer (top right), gets ready to enter the building as emergency personnel rush to aid police after shots were fired during a siege at Lindt Chocolat Cafe in the central business district of Sydney, early Tuesday, Dec. 16, 2014.
A flurry of loud bangs erupted as a swarm of heavily armed police stormed inside a downtown chocolate cafe where a gunman had been holding an unknown number of people hostage for more than 16 hours. The police swooped in shortly after five or six hostages were seen running out of the cafe early Tuesday morning.
Sydney
Police officers talk outside Lindt Cafe, in Martin Place where hostages continue to be held in Sydney, Dec. 15, 2014.
Mon Haron Monis
Iranian-born Muslim cleric, Sheik Haron, who is named in court papers as Man Haron Monis, has been named as the hostage taker at Lindt Chocolat Cafe at Martin Place in Sydney, Dec, 15, 2014.
The siege ended with three people dead, including the hostage taker, after police raided the building
Man Haron Monis is pictured here at a court appearance in Sydney in 2010.
Sydney
A hostage runs towards a police officer and safety outside Lindt cafe, where other hostages are being held, in Martin Place in central Sydney, Dec. 15, 2014.
Five hostages have escaped the cafe at the center of a siege in Sydney. Two of those who escaped were women, both wearing aprons indicating they were staff, at the Lindt cafe where a gunman has been holding an unknown number of hostages for several hours. Three men had earlier run out of the cafe.
Sydney
A hostage runs towards a police officer outside Lindt Chocolat Cafe, where other hostages are being held, in Martin Place in central Sydney, Dec. 15, 2014.
Two more hostages have run out of the cafe at the center of a siege in Sydney, Australia's largest city, according to a Reuters witness at the site. The two women were both wearing aprons indicating they were staff at the cafe where a gunman has been holding an unknown number of hostages for several hours. Three men had earlier run out of the cafe.
Sydney
Police officers position themselves at a corner near Lindt cafe in Martin Place, where hostages are being held, in central Sydney, Dec. 15, 2014.
Sydney
People standing behind a police cordon look towards Lindt cafe in Martin Place, where hostages are being held, in central Sydney Dec. 15, 2014.
Dozens of hostages were trapped inside the central Sydney cafe on Monday, with local television showing some being forced to hold up a black flag with white Arabic writing in the window, raising fears of an attack linked to Islamic militants.
Sydney
A police officer runs across Martin Place near Lindt cafe, where hostages are being held, in central Sydney, Dec. 15, 2014.
Hostages were being held inside the central Sydney cafe where a black flag with white Arabic writing could be seen in the window, local television showed on Monday, raising fears of an attack linked to Islamic militants.
Sydney
A hostage is escorted by police after he escaped Lindt Chocolat Cafe, at Martin Place in Sydney, Dec. 15, 2014.
Sydney
An armed policeman is seen on Phillip St in Sydney, Dec. 15, 2014.
Sydney
Construction workers gather in front of the Sydney Opera House after being evacuated in Sydney, Dec. 15, 2014.
Major landmarks in Sydney, including the Sydney Opera House, have been evacuated as police respond to a hostage situation inside a Martin Place cafe. An armed man is holding at least 20 people hostage at Lindt Chocolat Cafe.
Sydney
Armed police perform a safety check as a hostage situation continues in Sydney, Dec, 15, 2014.
Sydney
Armed police patrol in Sydney, Dec. 15, 2014.
Major landmarks in Sydney, including the Sydney Opera House, have been evacuated as police respond to a hostage situation inside a Martin Place cafe.
Sydney
Police push back a member of the public who tried to get into a building located near the Lindt Chocalot Cafe, where hostages are being held, at Martin Place in central Sydney, Dec. 15, 2014.
Australian police locked down the center of the country's biggest city on Monday after an armed man walked into the downtown Sydney cafe, took hostages and forced them to display an Islamic flag. Police said they knew of one armed assailant involved in the incident, but there could be more.
Sydney
Women assist an older woman as they are evactuated by police from a building next to Lindt Chocalat Cafe in Martin Place, where hostages are being held, in central Sydney, Dec. 15, 2014.
Sydney
Police confer on Philip St near the Lindt Chocolat Cafe, Martin Place in Sydney, Dec. 15, 2014.
Sydney
Police officers gesture near Lindt Chocoalt Cafe in Martin Place, where hostages are being held, in central Sydney, Dec. 15, 2014.
Sydney
A woman is seen in a window of the Lindt cafe, where hostages are being held, at Martin Place in central Sydney, Dec. 15, 2014.
Australian police locked down the center of the country's biggest city on Monday after an armed man walked into the downtown Sydney cafe, took hostages and forced them to display an Islamic flag.
Sydney
Hostages pressed against a window in Sydney, Australia at the Lindt Chocolat Cafe in Martin Place during a standoff between a gunman and police, Dec. 15, 2014.