Sydney siege: Australia begins investigation into deaths
An investigation has been launched into the police operation which ended a siege in a cafe in Sydney, Australia.
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Two people died, along with the gunman, as police commandos stormed the cafe in Martin Place in the heart of Sydney early on Tuesday morning.
Tributes are being paid to the victims and flags are flying at half mast on all NSW government buildings.
Police are also investigating the motives of the attacker, Man Haron Monis, a known extremist and criminal.
The probe into the police actions, led by New South Wales Homicide Squad detectives on behalf of the state's coroner, could take weeks or months.
The moment police stormed the cafe
At a press conference on Tuesday, NSW Police Deputy Commissioner Catherine Burn said: "It's extremely important that I do not say a great deal about the events of the past 24 hours [while that investigation takes place]."
Central Sydney was put in lockdown as the gunman, an Iranian refugee who had lived in Australia for many years, seized hostages on Monday morning.
The 16-hour siege ended after police stormed the Lindt cafe in the early hours of Tuesday.
Local media have named those who died as cafe manager Tori Johnson, 34 and Sydney lawyer Katrina Dawson, 38.
Tony Abbott: "The perpetrator...had a long history of violent crime, infatuation with extremism and mental instability''
Four people were injured, including a policeman hit in the face by shotgun pellets. The policeman has been discharged from hospital.
Two of the surviving hostages were pregnant and taken to hospital for "health and welfare purposes", NSW Police said in a statement. They were uninjured.
Three other surviving hostages suffered gunshot wounds to the shoulder, foot and leg respectively and all are in a stable condition, said the statement.
Commissioner Burn would not say whether Monis shot the hostages himself. Nor would she confirm media reports that cafe manager Mr Johnson was shot when he grappled with Monis, who was carrying a gun.
Asked if police stormed the cafe because of something they saw or heard from within the cafe, Commissioner Burn would say only that police acted on an "emergency plan".
"We had in place an emergency action plan. That plan was activated at a particular point in time... the information I have is that shots were heard and an emergency action plan was activated," she said.
"Can I just say I think every single one of those hostages acted courageously."
'Harmony'
An exclusion zone around the crime scene that extends for several city blocks remains in place along with some road closures and road diversions.
Commissioner Burn said a broader police operation, Operation Hammerhead, was now in "full force" and would operate around the clock.
NSW Police launched Operation Hammerhead in September, promising more police on Sydney's streets following an alleged terrorist plot to kill a random member of the public. At that time, it was expected to last only a week.
She said Operation Hammerhead would operate over the holiday season to ensure the Sydney community felt safe to go about its business.
"We have been working with the community non-stop over last 24 hours ... all sections of our communities, to make sure we have harmony," she said, adding that Sydney's Islamic leaders had been providing the police with "guidance and assistance".
Monis was a self-styled Muslim cleric who was born in Iran and sought political asylum in Australia in 1996.
He was well known to the Australian police and was on bail charged with being an accessory to the murder of his ex-wife. He was also facing more than 40 sexual and indecent assault charges.
Police will be investigating how Monis got a gun and what his motivations for the siege were. Cmr Burn would not comment on social media posts that had outlined his motivations other than to say "those demands have been put out on social media".
"He was known to police and he was on bail ... his movements will form a part of the investigation," she said.
"This was a man we do believe had some extreme views, we believe he was unstable."
The government has provided a condolence book at Martin Place for the public to sign, and people have been placing flowers in Martin Place in memory of the victims.
Credit: The BBC
