Minutes. So when that statement comes, well, of course bring it to you. And of course all of this ongoing in sydney as it comes up on 6 00 local time. This siege going on now for more than eight hours. Im john vause at the cnn center in atlanta. And im natalie allen. We have been with you for several hours, and we will push on as this situation in australia continues. It is breaking news of a siege there in a coffee shop that has been ongoing. A gunman Holding People hostage at the lindt coffee shop in downtown sydney. Sky news has just informed us that the gunman is calling himself the brother, and has contacted a Radio Station and two tv stations via hostages
with demands, a conversation with the Prime Minister and an isil flag. We do know five people have managed to get out. Three men were seen running out two hours ago. Two of them were customers. The man in the blue jacket, the man in the white zirs and a few moments later there was a man wearing an apron who appeared to be a work
was he yelling? what kind of accent he had? caller: he had a middle eastern accent with an australi australian tinge. we have been a country like your country, very welcoming of people from that part of the world. we have a long tradition of lebanese christians coming to sfr australia. and more recently, people of the muslim faith. the vast majority are peaceful, hard-working people who want to make a life for themselves. but we have these radicals, lunatics who have between 12 and 25 people holding hostage. the police know, but they won t release the number. originally there were somewhere between 15 and 30. so you take a guess. it s either ten people in there or 25. we don t know. now you say he threatened to