Australian police say 3 dead, 4 hurt in Sydney siege

Reuters

15 December 2014 at 1:52 pm

Policemen and rescue personnel carry an injured woman from the Lindt cafe, where hostages were being held, at Martin Place in central Sydney December 16, 2014. REUTERS/Jason Reed

SYDNEY (Reuters) - Three people are dead after a hostage drama in a Sydney cafe ended in heavy gunfire as security forces stormed the building, Australian police said on Tuesday. Local media reports said the hostage-taker was among those killed. Heavy gunfire and blasts from stun grenades filled the air shortly after 2 a.m. local time (1500 GMT on Monday) at the Lindt cafe in central Sydney, bringing to an end a siege that had lasted more than 16 hours. A 50-year-old man, a 38-year-old woman and a 34-year-old man had died, New South Wales police said. Two people were taken to hospital with non-life threatening injuries, while a police officer was being treated after being hit in the face with gunshot pellets. A woman was being treated for a gunshot wound to the shoulder, police added. (Reporting by Colin Packham; Editing by Dean Yates)

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