Sydney siege cleric tried to blast fleeing hostages with shotgun but missed

The man behind a deadly siege at a Sydney cafe fired at some of the hostages as they escaped but missed, possibly because of his limited experience with guns, an inquest heard Tuesday. Self-declared Muslim cleric Man Haron Monis took customers and staff at the upmarket Lindt cafe hostage on December 15, 2014, bringing the Martin Place financial district in Australia’s largest city to a standstill. As the siege dragged on into the early hours of December 16, he became more erratic. When six hostages ran for a door he fired his shotgun, an act which was seen as a warning shot at the time.

It now appears that although his shot missed, the very strong inference is that Monis was shooting at the hostages.

Counsel assisting the inquiry, Sophie Callan

Sophie Callan, counsel assisting the inquiry, told the inquest: "The fact that he missed by some margin is consistent with him having limited experience with guns and with the difficulty of aiming his sawn-off shotgun, plus the suddenness of the escape.“ The inquest was told that police had hoped to "contain and negotiate” with Monis, who was armed with the gun and thought to have a bomb in his backpack. It was later discovered to be fake. Monis, who had asked police for an Islamic State flag but was refused, held the hostages for some 17 hours – over which time five escaped, including two without his notice. Cafe manager Tori Johnson, 34, and Katrina Dawson, a 38-year-old barrister and mother-of-three, were killed by Monis as police stormed the buiding.

Sydney cafe