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| Version 1 | Version 2 |
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| Sydney siege: Australia begins investigation into deaths | Sydney siege: Australia begins investigation into deaths |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| An investigation has been launched into the police operation which ended a siege in a cafe in Sydney, Australia. | An investigation has been launched into the police operation which ended a siege in a cafe in Sydney, Australia. |
| 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. | 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. |
| The victims have been named in the media as cafe manager Tori Johnson, 34 and Sydney lawyer Katrina Dawson, 38. | |
| Tributes are being paid to them and flags are flying at half mast on all NSW government buildings. | Tributes are being paid to them and flags are flying at half mast on all NSW government buildings. |
| Police are also investigating the motives of the attacker, named as Man Haron Monis, an Iranian refugee who was a known extremist and criminal. | Police are also investigating the motives of the attacker, named as Man Haron Monis, an Iranian refugee who was a known extremist and criminal. |
| Central Sydney was put in lockdown on Monday morning as the gunman entered the Lindt Chocolat Cafe and seized hostages. The siege ended as police stormed the cafe in the early hours of Tuesday. | Central Sydney was put in lockdown on Monday morning as the gunman entered the Lindt Chocolat Cafe and seized hostages. The siege ended as police stormed the cafe in the early hours of Tuesday. |
| The investigation - standard practice when police are involved in a fatal incident - is being led by New South Wales Homicide Squad detectives on behalf of the state's coroner, and could take weeks or months. | The investigation - standard practice when police are involved in a fatal incident - is being led by New South Wales Homicide Squad detectives on behalf of the state's coroner, and could take weeks or months. |
| At a press conference on Tuesday, NSW Police Deputy Commissioner Catherine 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. | At a press conference on Tuesday, NSW Police Deputy Commissioner Catherine 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 "shots were heard and an emergency action plan was activated". | Asked if police stormed the cafe because of something they saw or heard from within the cafe, Commissioner Burn would say only that "shots were heard and an emergency action plan was activated". |
| She said it was "extremely important that I do not say a great deal about the events of the past 24 hours" while the investigation is under way. But she said that "every single one of those hostages acted courageously". | She said it was "extremely important that I do not say a great deal about the events of the past 24 hours" while the investigation is under way. But she said that "every single one of those hostages acted courageously". |
| At the scene: Wendy Frew, BBC News Online, Australia editor | |
| At Christmas time in Sydney, people come to Martin Place to see the giant Christmas tree. This year they have come to see a sea of flowers laid in memory of the victims of this week's cafe shooting. Hundreds of bouquets have been laid on the pedestrian plaza a block away from where the siege took place. | |
| Well-wishers like Maureen Sharma and Ruza Fisher have come to sign a condolence book and to lay flowers. The two young office employees who work nearby wanted to pay their respects. | |
| "I came to work this morning and could not stop crying," said Ms Sharma. "It touched me more than I had expected." Ms Fisher said her stomach was in knots. "I am starting to well up… It was such a waste of lives." | |
| Hundreds of people and the usual media crowd have gathered here to watch the flower offering grow. Amid a heavy police presence, people quietly talked about what had happened. | |
| Some young women stood to the side crying; mothers brought their babies; tourists signed the condolence books; and businessmen stopped to talk to the disaster recovery chaplains provided by local authorities. | |
| A policeman who was hit in the face by shotgun pellets during the raid has since been discharged from hospital. Three others who suffered gunshot wounds are in a stable condition, NSW Police said in a statement. | A policeman who was hit in the face by shotgun pellets during the raid has since been discharged from hospital. Three others who suffered gunshot wounds are in a stable condition, NSW Police said in a statement. |
| Two of the hostages who were pregnant were uninjured but taken to hospital for "health and welfare purposes", said the statement. | Two of the hostages who were pregnant were uninjured but taken to hospital for "health and welfare purposes", said the statement. |
| Sixteen-hour siege | Sixteen-hour siege |
| 09:45 Monday local time (22:45 GMT Sunday): Police are called out to the Lindt Chocolat Cafe in Sydney's Martin Place, a busy plaza in the heart of the city. Suggestions an armed robbery is under way are soon discounted. | 09:45 Monday local time (22:45 GMT Sunday): Police are called out to the Lindt Chocolat Cafe in Sydney's Martin Place, a busy plaza in the heart of the city. Suggestions an armed robbery is under way are soon discounted. |
| 10:09: Australian TV stations broadcast footage of hostages holding a black Islamic banner up to the window. The gunman can also be seen, wearing a bandana. | 10:09: Australian TV stations broadcast footage of hostages holding a black Islamic banner up to the window. The gunman can also be seen, wearing a bandana. |
| 16:00-17:00: Three men, then two women, sprint to safety from the cafe's fire exit. | 16:00-17:00: Three men, then two women, sprint to safety from the cafe's fire exit. |
| 02:10 Tuesday (15:10 GMT Monday): Several more hostages escape and commandos storm the cafe. | 02:10 Tuesday (15:10 GMT Monday): Several more hostages escape and commandos storm the cafe. |
| 02:48: Police officially confirm end of siege. They later report the deaths of three people, including the gunman. | 02:48: Police officially confirm end of siege. They later report the deaths of three people, including the gunman. |
| How the siege unfolded | How the siege unfolded |
| Australian media warn against quick conclusions | Australian media warn against quick conclusions |
| In pictures: Australians pay tribute | In pictures: Australians pay tribute |
| 'Harmony' | 'Harmony' |
| An exclusion zone remains in place for several blocks around the crime scene, along with some road closures. | |
| Commissioner Burn said a broader police operation, Operation Hammerhead, was now in "full force" and would operate around the clock throughout the holiday season. | Commissioner Burn said a broader police operation, Operation Hammerhead, was now in "full force" and would operate around the clock throughout the holiday season. |
| 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. | 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. |
| "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". | "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 had a history of religiously-inspired activism, but officials say there is as yet no evidence his actions were linked to international Islamist movements. | Monis was a self-styled Muslim cleric who was born in Iran and sought political asylum in Australia in 1996. He had a history of religiously-inspired activism, but officials say there is as yet no evidence his actions were linked to international Islamist movements. |
| 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. | 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. |
| During the siege he apparently forced hostages to hold up a flag showing the Islamic creed in the cafe window. | During the siege he apparently forced hostages to hold up a flag showing the Islamic creed in the cafe window. |
| Police will be investigating his movements ahead of the siege and how Monis got a gun. Cmr Burn said police "believe he was unstable". | Police will be investigating his movements ahead of the siege and how Monis got a gun. Cmr Burn said police "believe he was unstable". |
| The government has provided several condolence books at Martin Place for the public to sign, and people have been placing flowers in Martin Place in memory of the victims. | |
| A church service was held at St Mary Cathedral, near the Lindt Cafe, on Tuesday to mourn the victims. Archbishop Anthony Fisher said the "heart of our city is broken by the deaths of two innocents". | |
| On Tuesday, staff were briefly evacuated from the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) in Canberra, after a suspicious package was found. It was later declared safe. |