Posted on 12/14/2014 3:37:33 PM PST by naturalman1975
A hostage has been forced to hold up an Islamic State flag in the window of a shop in Martin Place that is currently under siege.
It is believed there are 12 hostages in the store and an ISIS flag has been placed in the window.
Martin Place is the main financial area of the Sydney CBD.
(Excerpt) Read more at heraldsun.com.au ...
One that I saw,,,was wearing an apron..and presumably an employee at the cafe
I Pray that this concludes well.
That’s a good point. I would hope the Australians have got that angle covered.
True.
The UT is ABC24 link to onsite viewing.
Other officials are returning to the city because of this situation...I think they’re staging further.
There’s more going on I think...for obvious reasons not going to inform the public more than they have to.
If that indeed was an ‘escape’...those people put the others at risk by doing so....
It’s a good technique if there are EMS people right there to correct the sudden pass-out of the hostages.
They’ve had contact with the gunman....which I think may have been even before reported. The ‘duration alone’ would indicate this and the fact they had a negotiating team on the scene right away.
Wonder if this guy is a ‘throw-away’, to gauge response and resolve?
most I have seen have a key lock that will bypass the alarm, especially if the door was used in s back room for receiving, etc. they can open it to bring supplys in then arm it so they know if it was opened by a unauthorized person.
Emergency exits are typically alarmed here in the States. Is the same true in Oz?
matt1234 posted, just above your post, that police are on the 2nd floor of the building the café is in. That lift may be how they got up there.
I didn’t get there using YT. I used the direct link to their site and it’s been working fine.
did you really just say that ?
Hostage situations are always difficult when so many are taken.
Wonder what the guys demands are?
These negotiators are amazing in how they can operate in a hostage situation. Sometimes over eager police get in the way but I understand these teams even have men who keep the police in line in what and why things are necessary to let the negotiators work.
One of the things they will do once they know what his demands are, is to give him the most basic requests...sometimes in exchange for hostages....it’s a very refined and exact..”Science”.
It’s common, but not universal in my experience.
Something’s up, that seems apparent. But I agree they won’t tip their hand any more than they can help it. They still don’t know if there are others involved with this. I wanna know where this guy’s two buddies are.
I had the same thought as you about the three who escaped. Maybe that’s why they brought the big trucks in. They may expect an explosion since people in buildings facing the café are being told to stay inside by the police.
I’m holding my breath and hoping this doesn’t get really ugly.
I can’t be certain - but looking at him a few times, I have serious doubts about the man who described seeing these two others.
Unfortunately some people try to insert themselves into stories like this.
If they do it, I hope the EMS folks are ready to act quickly. This is all very unnerving and you know the hostages’ families are losing their minds with worry.
Of course...that’s a given in a hostage situation...the gunman is generally already more than testy...this has been going on all day...he’s tired no doubt. So yes it would put the other’s at risk for a trigger happy individual.
My guess is this guy is not, rahter has a definate agenda, planned and well thought out or this would have been a wrap sometime ago.
This may very well go on for days.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.