UPDATED 3:28PM:Â Mourners are laying flowers at a makeshift shrine in central Sydney, as Australia grieves the deaths of a young man and a mother of three during the Martin Place cafe siege.
Barrister and mother of three young children Katrina Dawson, aged 38, and 34-year-old Tori Johnson, the manager of the Lindt cafe, died early today during a traumatic end to the 16-and-a-half hour siege just after 4am.
After reports of gunshots inside, heavily armed tactical police stormed the cafe, where self-styled Islamic cleric Man Haron Monis had held 17 people at gunpoint since 9.45am yesterday.
Unconfirmed reports have emerged that Mr Johnson was trying to wrestle Monis's weapon from him when he was killed.
NSW Premier Mike Baird says it's a tragedy that no one could've imagined.
Ms Dawson, a highly regarded commercial barrister, was in the cafe for her regular morning coffee with a colleague when Monis entered, drew a shotgun from a bag and held his victims inside.
Katrina Dawson (L) and Tori Johnson (R) (Supplied)Â
Tributes have flowed from friends and colleagues of Ms Dawson as Governor-General Sir Peter Cosgrove, NSW Police Commissioner Andrew Scipione and Mr Baird join Sydneysiders in laying flowers at a makeshift Martin Place memorial.
Mr Scipione says he doesn't think he could be sadder.
Prime Minister Tony Abbott is due to visit the site today.
Injured survivors and a 39-year-old police officer with face injuries were taken to hospitals around the city.
A 75-year-old woman had a gunshot wound to her shoulder; another woman, 52, had a wound to her foot; and a 43-year-old woman had a leg wound.
All are in a stable condition.
Two pregnant women, 30 and 35, were also taken to hospital for health and welfare assessments.
New South Wales deputy police commissioner Catherine Burn says it could take months to get a full picture of what happened inside the cafe.
"I think every single one of those hostages, every single one of those victims acted courageously," she says.
Police are trying to piece together exactly what happened, and Burn says this may take some time.
"There are a lot of people to interview and a lot of people are very tired at the moment."
"A lot of people are very emotional. We have to consider peoples' heath, welfare, and their mental health at the moment."
Catherine Burn says 24-hour police patrols of Sydney landmarks and hotspots is being stepped up.
Violent end to siege
Three are dead and four seriously injured after the Sydney siege came to a violent end.
Heavily armed police stormed the Lindt cafe in the early hours of this morning, with the gunman dying in the exchange.
VIDEO: Police storm Lindt Chocolate Cafe
The 50-year-old hostage taker was pronounced dead after being taken to hospital.
Of the hostages who survived - two women are in hospital with what are described as non-life threatening injuries.
A third woman is in hospital with gunshot wounds to her face - and a police officer also has gunshot wounds.
Again his injuries are described as non-threatening.
Sky's Laura Jayes says three of the hostages worked in a barristers' chambers in the same building as the Lindt cafe.
Police Commissioner Andrew Scipione says five hostages escaped, leaving 12 inside the cafe when police stormed it.
"Some with traumatic injuries, some with medical conditions.
"We have two deceased amongst the hostages and six that were injured."
It's believed the gunman killed one hostage, triggering the police offensive, where the hostage-taker was then also killed.
"A sustained burst of automatic gunfire intermingled with more flash grenades, more gunfire and the screams of the hostages as they ran to safety.
"As the situation stabilised ambulance paramedics rushed into the scene with gurneys, ready to deal with the casualties.
"They emerged also, some obviously seriously injured, paramedics giving first aid as they pushed the gurneys to waiting ambulances to hospital.
"There emergency teams had also been on stand-by."
A man inside the cafe had claimed he had at least four bombs, and a bomb disposal robot was seen entering the cafe immediately after the area was secured.
Ambulances surround the scene and paramedics have been seen giving CPR to at least two people.
Self-styled sheikh was on bailÂ
Man Haron Monis (Sky News Australia)Â
The man at the centre is 50-year-old self-styled sheikh Man Haron Monis.
He's on bail, accused of helping kill his ex-wife.
Monis is also facing a raft of charges relating to his time working as a so-called spiritual healer, including 22 counts of aggravated sexual assault and 14 counts of aggravated indecent assault.
Correspondent Tom Andronas says Police believe the hostage taker is someone they've known for several years.
"He first came to the attention of police when he penned some letters to the family of dead Australian soldiers seven years ago."
As a result, he was convicted of 12 counts of using a postal service to cause offence, ordered to perform 300 hours of community service and placed on a two-year good behaviour bond.
Abbott: 'We have risen to to the challenge'
Australian prime minister Tony Abbott says the country has been truly tested.
"Like Australians in all sorts of situations, we have risen to the challenge."
New South Wales Premier Mike Baird says people must be strong and go about their normal business.
He's paying tribute to the police who he says saved many, many lives over the past 24 hours.
And Mike Baird says his thoughts are with the hostages and their families who will be provided with every support they need in the coming days, weeks and months.
"Today we must come together like never before.
"We are stronger together, we will get through this.
"We will get through this."
Siege 'a standalone attack', security expert
Security expert Paul Buchanan says the siege appears to have been a stand-alone attack.
"This has nothing to do with terrorism.
"This has all to do with one man's very fragile mental state and his grievances against a multitude of others."
He says anti-terror legislation may have done little to prevent the siege from happening.
"Oftentimes criminals and people who are mentally unstable will cloak themselves in the appearance of adherence to extremism when in fact it's nothing of the sort."
Top US spy's warning
A terror act similar to the deadly Sydney Lindt cafe siege will soon take place in the US, a former high-ranking CIA official says.
Michael Morell, the former deputy director of the CIA, has "guaranteed" a copycat incident in America.
"We are going to see this kind of attack here and we need to be prepared for that," said Morrell, speaking on US TV news show CBS This Morning.
"It shouldn't surprise people when this happens here some time over the next year or so - guaranteed."
Australia's Muslim community fears reprisals
Australia's Muslim community is horrified by the attack, and fears reprisals.
One leader Dr Jamal Rifi says the gunman's violence is a disgrace to Islam, and has nothing to do with religious teachings.
"If he is a publicity seeker, he wanted people to know about it and to know who he is.
"We don't know, we don't know what's his motive but it's definitely personal, it's definitely criminal."
"It has nothing to do with any one else in this community or societies at large."
Correspondent Tom Andronas told Rachel Smalley some Australians have turned to social media to counter anti-Muslim sentiments, with the hashtag "I Stand With You".
"A way of saying life goes on and we're not holding you responsible for the actions of this madman."
'I'll ride with you' goes viral
The "I'll ride with you" hashtag sparked by the Sydney siege has gone viral.
It began when young Sydney woman, Rachael Jacobs, say a Muslim woman sitting next to her on a train silently remove her hijab in the wake of news of the siege.
Ms Jacobs ran after her, told her to put it back on - and she'd walk with her.
News of the event on social media's sparked the I'll ride with you campaign. .
Hostage taker described as 'coward'
The New Zealand Muslim Federation is describing the Sydney hostage taker as a coward.
President Anwar Ghani doubts a repeat of the incident will happen here.
But he says the hostage drama is making life very difficult for the Muslim community.
Dr Ghani says they'll have to keep a close eye, not only on their own members, but those who are outside of their community to make sure there is no copy cat incident here.
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