A gunman in Melbourne, Australia held a woman hostage and called a local TV station claiming he was a member of ISIS. Two people have died and three police officers were shot and injured as a result of the incident.
A bystander captured on video the moment a ‘hail’ of gunfire erupted after authorities tried to negotiate with the hostage-taker.
Police rescued the woman, and two men were killed in the efforts to do so, including the hostage-taker himself. The incident began at 4pm local time when police and a fire crew responded to reports of an explosion at a building in Bay Street, Brighton.
Police authorities said they already found another dead man’s body when they arrived at the scene, and their presumption is he was shot dead by the gunman-hostage-taker.
The gunman was shot dead by the police after making a call to a television network claiming “he was acting on behalf of ISIS and Al Qaeda.
Local newspaper The Herald reported that the gunman killed by the authorities are known to counter-terrorism police.
The woman was taken hostage in an apartment, but local media in Australia reported that she is already safe. Footage taken by a bystander inside a vehicle suggest that multiple shots were fired.
The condition of the injured police officers is not serious with two of them being treated in a hospital, while another one was given treatment on the scene.
7 News Melbourne posted an update on Twitter saying that the police are investigating whether Brighton siege is terror-related. The male caller to 7 News newsroom said, “This is for ISIS.”
This is a developing story.
Source:
https://twitter.com/7NewsMelbourne/status/871653117825241088
http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/world-news/melbourne-hostage-shootout-two-dead-10562933
isolated incident