A gunman took an unknown number of people hostage inside a downtown Sydney chocolate shop and cafe at the height of Monday morning rush hour. Two people inside the cafe hold up a flag believed to contain an Islamic declaration of faith.
Sydney, Australia, Hostage Situation
update
![Sydney Muslim community leader Jamal Rifi, center, and his family members pray at a makeshift memorial after a siege at Martin Place in the central business district of Sydney, Australia Tuesday, Dec. 16, 2014.](https://gdb.voanews.com/2D2FA681-FD7D-44C1-ABE3-9D6DECB7BC1B_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
1
Sydney Muslim community leader Jamal Rifi, center, and his family members pray at a makeshift memorial after a siege at Martin Place in the central business district of Sydney, Australia Tuesday, Dec. 16, 2014.
![Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott and his wife Margie prepare to place floral tributes near the cafe in central Sydney, December 16, 2014.](https://gdb.voanews.com/29D72FBA-A5B8-4AC5-B588-9FADFF8E278B_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
2
Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott and his wife Margie prepare to place floral tributes near the cafe in central Sydney, December 16, 2014.
![A woman kneels as she lays flowers in a makeshift memorial near the site where a gunman held hostages for 16 hours at a popular Sydney cafe, Australia, Tuesday, Dec. 16, 2014.](https://gdb.voanews.com/0CE4DF9E-7218-437E-ADC7-3D5768276F88_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
3
A woman kneels as she lays flowers in a makeshift memorial near the site where a gunman held hostages for 16 hours at a popular Sydney cafe, Australia, Tuesday, Dec. 16, 2014.
![People lay flowers to pay respect to the shooting victims at a makeshift memorial at Martin Place in Sydney's Martin Place, Sydney Australia. Tuesday Dec. 16, 2014.](https://gdb.voanews.com/17D0EC98-CFBA-436D-B9C6-036FBBB48373_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
4
People lay flowers to pay respect to the shooting victims at a makeshift memorial at Martin Place in Sydney's Martin Place, Sydney Australia. Tuesday Dec. 16, 2014.