A hostage situation in Melbourne‘s south-east has come to a dramatic conclusion, with the suspect shot dead, the hostage rescued and three police officers injured but alive.
Police arrived at the serviced apartments in Brighton at around 4pm today, after reports by the residents of an explosion. They found a man who appeared to be shot dead in the foyer. It’s possible that he was the receptionist or security for the apartments.
It’s understood the suspect was holding a woman hostage inside the building, with police issuing a statement saying:
“It’s believed he has a woman inside with him who he won’t allow to leave. Victoria Police specialist units are currently on scene. Roads are closed in the vicinity and we urge the community to avoid the area.”
Residents and locals were moved away from the building and into a Coles across the road.
Sky News reporter Ahron Young was doing a live cross when he heard “severe gunfire” coming from the scene at around 6pm.
.@AhronYoung: thirty or forty rounds of gunfire have been heard at the scene of a hostage situation in Melbourne. https://t.co/k2zNgNSeGF pic.twitter.com/R3teCDJcbp
— Sky News Australia (@SkyNewsAust) June 5, 2017
Many witnesses have uploaded photos and videos from the scene with audio of dozens of shots.
Here’s video from a bystander following reports of hostage situation at Brighton apartment complex @theheraldsun pic.twitter.com/YXGo4rmU3d
— Wes Hosking (@WesHosking) June 5, 2017
Gunfire in Brighton at Bay Street. pic.twitter.com/46NnvgQvT4
— kateforster (@kateforster) June 5, 2017
According to 7NEWS, special ops were able to rescue the woman by dragging her to safety from inside the apartments. Three officers were injured during the operation, but both have been reported to be alive and uncritical.
The Age reports that police removed what looked to be a body on a stretcher at around 6.20pm.
7NEWS has also reported that the male suspect called the news station, with reporter Paul Dowsley saying from the scene:
“We can now reveal that 7 News received a contact phone call to our news room during this siege. We believe and police in fact believe that it came from within the building, and we could hear a woman screaming in the background. A male caller told a 7 News employee, ‘This is for IS, this is for Al Qaeda.’ We can reveal this because the siege is over and police are investigating whether it is in fact terror related.”
Image: Twitter / @freediveguy.
