Aussie Gunman Was Not on Terrorist Watch List, PM Says
The gunman who took 17 hostages in Sydney was not on a terrorist watch list despite being well known to federal police and the Australian security agency, Prime Minister Tony Abbott said Tuesday.
The prime minister spoke as Australians laid mounds of flowers at the site in Sydney’s central business district where 50-year-old Man Haron Monis held hostages for 16 hours at a popular cafe.
The siege ended early Tuesday with a barrage of gunfire that left two hostages and the Iranian-born gunman dead, and a nation that has long prided itself on its peace rocked to its core.
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