It appears that a 15-hour standoff between a lone gunman and police has come to an end. Man Haron Monis, a self-styled Iranian sheikh, has been identified as the man who walked into a busy chocolate café in Sydney, Australia's financial district and took a number of hostages, according to AOL. The situation remains fluid, but as of now we know police stormed the cafe and, while gunshots rang out, at least some hostages were able to escape to safety.
Monis already has an illustrious criminal record with various charges of sexual assault, and he also has been arrested for sending hate mail to families of Australian soldiers who have died in Afghanistan. Monis is currently free on bail after being considered an accessory to murder after his alleged girlfriend was killed and he then set his wife on fire.
After taking several people hostage earlier today, said ABC News, Monis encouraged them to use social media to get his wish for an ISIS flag and a conversation with Australian political figures across to everyone listening. At times the hostages were seen pushed up against the plate-glass windows and Monis could be seen pacing wildly. After about 11 hours in captivity, five hostages were able to make a run for safety and, upon realizing it, Monis reportedly became more unstable, leading police to start to formulate their plan to go in after him.
Monis made his loyalty to ISIS clear from the start, and these are precisely the kinds of attacks the Muslim extremist group has been promoting and encouraging. Even in the U.S. there seems to be more fear growing about the idea of random, lone-wolf attacks that can literally pop up just about anywhere and without any real advance warning.
Do you fear more instances like this becoming a problem and concern for us all? Let us know down in the comments section.
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