the stray dog population. so this $100,000 is going to go a long ways helping kids to avoid being bitten by a rabid dog in the first place. >> congratulations. >> thank you so much. this is absolutely amazing. thank you, cnn. i'm don lemon. thank you for watching, our coverage now continues with john vause at the cnn center in atlanta. >> thank you, and hello, welcome to our viewers in the united states and all around the world. ahead this hour, a day of mourning across australia. family and friends are remembering the people killed in a downtown coffee shop. meantime, cnn is learning more about the islamic extremist who carried out the attack. plus a killer is on the loose in pennsylvania. and then later, bill kwcosbs wife is asking, who is really the victim here?

but we begin in sydney, australia, a city dealing with the aftermath of a deadly hostage standoff. the hostage taker is dead along with two of his 17 captives. tori johnson and katrina dawson are the dead. >> sandy dawson who i know and have friend whose know. she's a mother. i just found that out this morning. >> a mother of three. a lawyer who was the wife of one of our colleagues, at 7, one of the fatalities. this is a city with a heavy heart this morning. >> she's the youngest sister of the lawyer who does a lot of

work for channel 7 who many would know in sydney. and that family is suffering this morning, as the others are. >> the entire city is shaken over this deadly standoff. well-wishers and mourners have been leaving flowers near the lints cafe. and this was the scene there earlier as police and soldiers used bullets and stun grenades to bring a very quick end to a 16-hour long standoff. the hostage taker himself, man ha ron monis was killed. let's go to andrew stevens, live for us at this hour in sydney. so we are now learning a lot more about the two hostages who were killed. >> reporter: we are learning a

lot more about the two hostages. and, as you heard there, john, a very sad and somber city it is here today with the news filtering out just several hours ago now, the two hostages had died when the hostage taker, when police entered to take the hostage taker. a mother of three, a very successful barrister, and the manager, the operator of that lirnts chocolate shop. it was a busy time of the day. he was quite well-known to his customers, he'd been there for about two years. there's a lot of unconfirmed reports about what happened in the last fateful moments which led to the storming by police. it had been indicated if you like, that they were prepared to wait this out, but there in were gunshots heard inside the lipts and police acted very, very quickly. they moved in with the stun

grenades, they moved in, in force, and as a result, it there were three dead, one, including the hostage taker. now what we have been reading and hearing this morning is tori johnson actually tried to wrestle the gun away from man haron monis. and he was unsuccessful, and that is when he was shot. there are unconfirmed reports. the city has seen all morning people coming in to lay flowers at a makeshift memorial as close as they can get to the coffee shop, which is still cordoned off by police. we're also being told that the body of man monis is still in that shop. forensic are in there, obviously thoroughly looking for all sorts of evidence they can use to try and piece together what exactly happened there. of course talked to the hostages as well. we haven't heard much from the hostages so far. expecting those stories to start coming out over the next few

hours and days. ? and along with those who were killed, a number of people were injured. up to five people were hurt. what's their condition right now? >> reporter: well, as far as we know, none serious, none life threatening. they are in hospital with various degrees of injuries. a policeman was hit in the face by pellets from the shotgun which was being used by the hostage taker, but it doesn't look as if the death toll is going to mount in this shocking tragedy. it's interesting talking to people around the streets this morning, it is sad, it is somber. people are shocked. they will all use the word shocked very quickly when you start talking to them. but there's also a resilience here. the common refrain is it's not going to change the way we live here. we realize something terrible has happened. a lot of people think this was a lone wolf attack. this wasn't a bigger plot and

police have said as much that monis was not linked to a wider plot. in fact, i was talking to a channel 7 investigative reporter here just the last hour or so, and he has spent many, many years looking at haron monis, and he was being ostracized by the muslim community as early as 2008. so this does appear to be focusing toward the fact that this was carried out by very much a lone wolf. as you mentioned, he had serious criminal records. there were 40 counts of sexual abuse he was facing. there were also charges of being accessory to a murder, murder of his former wife. and on top of that he was charged and found guilty of sending poison pen letters to the families of those in the iraq war. and it looks as though he was acting alone. >> he's taken two live,

toriionstori io tori johnson, the manager of the cafe and the mother of three children. police men were familiar with him. atia shubert has more on that. >> reporter: long before he walked into the sydney coffee shop with a gun, he was well-known to police. originally from iran, he settled in australia, a self-described muslim cleric and peace act vest. and in 2013, he was convicted of posting hargs letters to the families of sfralen soldiers in afghanistan. he was sentenced to community service. ? this pen is my gun! and these words are my bullets.

>> reporter: he became a fixture of sorts, staging attention-seeking protests. his poster board this this video claims he was tortured in jail. police have refused to comment. he began posting online videos as sheikh haron. last year he was charged with the accessory to murder of his former wife. most recently, he was charged with sexual assault dating from 2002 when he was operating as a spiritual healer outside sydney. charges he denies. he pledged allegiance to isis, but there is no indication so far that monis had any direct communication with isis leaders in syria or iraq. now he had a number of twitter profiles, facebook pages and a website, sheikh haron.com. but one of the last things he

posted was an open letter denying all the charges against him. and also he claimed he was denied access to his children. that paints a picture of a man facing increasing pressure from the law. he also makes clear in the letter that he is not a member of any party or group. suggesting that his action taking hostages was his and his alone. in the days to come, we'll likely learn more about why this so-called man of peace turned to violence. atika shubert, london. >> many are in shock that this has happened on australian soil. there is a realization that australia is vulnerable to a lone wolf attack. let's go to justin hastings for more on this. and the gunman, and justin, here we have someone known to police. he had a violent criminal history. and more troubling, he was out

on bail. why was he not being watched closer by police? >> well, being out on bail is one thing and doing a terrorist act is another. you put him under restraining orders, does it work? clearly nothing they did to restrain him stopped him from getting a shotgun and going to the cafe. >> if you look in the facts in here, there was a threat to carry out a random attack on passersby in martin place which is where this happened. you have a man with an ax to ground. surely there were red flags somewhere along the line? >> the threat wasn't necessarily in any way related to him. i'm sure he might have been inspired by the threats. anytime you have a threat or a

plot, whether it suck sides or fails, how it succeeds or fails gives information to terrorist whose are thinking about doing that. when it came up, he probably thought this is a good idea, and then he did it. the fact that it was inspired, the police couldn't have drawn any connection. >> everyone agrees it could have been so much worse. but did police do the right thing? by waiting here? or should they have gone in sooner, knowing this was going to end badly in some way? >> you can second guess a hostage situation after it end, and the deaths are tragic. the police are following a very standard hostage negotiation tactic of waiting out the hostage taker. they probably thought they had to move in once they heard gunshots n that situation you can't wait outside and you have to go in at that point.

so they probably did the right thing this going in. we'll find out later what happened in the cafe and whether certain measures will be taken possibly to prevent the deaths of hose whothose hostages. >> will law enforcement change anything after this? did they learn anything from this? >> well, i think in some ways, it's a bit too early to tell what to do about this. the absolute worst possible time to change your counter terrorism policy is right after an attack. you should sit back, look at lessons learned, what went wrong, what went right, how to respond to this attack, and those things will have to be debated and thought out in a clear way in the months to come. >> the lone wolf attacks, they seem to be increasingly common. we've seen them in brussels, now

s sydney. is this what the future of terrorism will look like? >> i think it's a large part of it. we've spent a lot of time in western governments finding ways to intercept and stop terrorists from getting into countries, getting out of countries and communicating with each other. but you don't actually need to communicate or move to have an attack. you can do it yourself. and if you're inspired by a message, you attack wherever you are. and what i think lone wolves are figuring out, is that even if they have no training, they can do what they want, and that will lead to a massive reaction by governments that will in some way disrupt and cause more damage than they themselves can ever hope to do. >> justin, it was good having you with us as this story unfolded at this time yesterday. thank you for being with us again. we've very much appreciated your analysis and your insights. thank you, sir. thousands have marched in an anti-islam movement, a group

that calls itself patriotic europeans against the islamization of the west. they object to the sharp increase in refugees fleeing unrest in the middle east. despite drawing far-right supporters, they insist they are not neo-nazis. angela merkle has condemned the protests and warned them not to be exploited by extremists. coming up, why the hash tag, i'll ride with you, is bringing speculation. the man hunt under way after six family members are found dead.

welcome back. you're watching cnn live around the world. an intense man united stathunt y in pennsylvania. it has shake and quiet community not far from philadelphia. >> reporter: the rampage started about 3:30 monday morning at one home. authorities say 35-year-old bradley stone kills his former wife's sister, her husband and their 14 year old daughter and seriously wounds her 17-year-old brother. about an hour later, he goes to

the home of his ex-mother-in-law killing her and her elderly mother. then he drive to his former wife's house, kills her and leaves with his two daughters in their pajamas. he drops them off with one of his own neighbors and they are safe. the motive appears to be domestic. according to court papers, it was not a happy divorce. there were child custody and support problems. and neighbors say the two exes constantly fought. stone is an ex marine reservist. the search continues. he is considered armed and dangerous. susan candiotti, cnn, new york. there's a warning from new york city's police commissioner. he says they will not tolerate

attacks on police officers. new york police have generally allowed marches to block bridges, giving them a little morley we leeway. >> when agitators would seek to take over these events, we would deal quickly with them. our effort will be focused on anybody who seeks to assault a new york city police officer or anybody who seeks to disrupt the demonstrations through acts of violence, of vandalism. we will aggressively pursue them. >> the man who police say sparked the attack was arrested sunday, and police are looking for six other suspects. they were identified in videos posted on youtube. ♪ we who believe in justice ♪ cannot rest until it comes >> they are calling for a dave

civil disobedience. they want to shut down the capitol. here's more on what the protesters had to say. >> we need to call them out. and all the time, every time, we're going to constantly hear what? well, the officers are risking their lives. that is a bunch of crock. that is a bunch of crock. lumberjacks, sanitation workers have more dangerous jobs. fishermen have more dangerous jobs than the police. the police are armed to the teeth. they are probably one of the safest people public service wise. where are the dead cops? 104 cops got killed. someone had a heart attack, someone had a car accident, 43 of them was shot. but every 24 hours, we are shot, and we're unarmed. >> another nfl player has staged a protest against police

killing, andrew hawkins wore a tee shirt, calling for justice for tamir rice. >> to me, justice means that the innocent should be found innocent. it means that those who do wrong should get their due punishment. ultimately, it means fair treatment. so a call for justice shouldn't offend or disrespect anybody. a call for justice shouldn't warrant an apology. >> the shirt also referenced the death of john crawford. he was shot and police by police in august while waving an air rifle in a store in ohio. hawkken

hakkewk -- 20 women are seen here. some are spoken to cnn. but the cosbys have remained silent about the allegations. on monday, camille cosby went up to the media for its coverage of the accusers. she says he is the man you thought you knew. there appears to be no vetting of my husband's accusers before store ears are published or aired. an accusation is published and immediately goes fierl. we all followed the store eve the art skl in "the rolling sfoen" of allegations of rape at the university of virginia. the story was heartbreaking and appears not to be true. the yes shouquestion should be who is the victim? gas prices are down, but wall street is paying the price.

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well, you've probably noticed at the pump that the gas prices or petrol prices are falling. the drop follows a drop on friday. investors fear this will affect

oil producers. gas is now at $1.89 in oklahoma. 13 states report gas prices below $2 per gallon. that's less than 60 cents a liter, which is just incredible. the economy is reeling from the energy prices and now appears to be crashing, the russian ruble plunged monday and has now lost nearly 50% against the u.s. dollar this year. russia's central bank hiked a key interest rate. it was huge. from 10.5% to 17%. the central bank has pumped $90 billion to try to stabilize the economy. it could hit 10% by year's end. if oil prices remain near $60 per barrel, russia could be heading towards a very deep recession next year.

california's drought situation is getting better, slowly, as there is another storm which is now moving ashore. pedram joins us now with the details. this has been the worst drought for a hundred years or so? >> they've made some ground at least. the storm that we saw last week, we see storms like that, that bring in 3 to 5 inches of rainfall across san francisco. storms like that sometimes happen once every two years. hydrologists are saying we need five to six of these to make up for the drought. keep in mind, you do the math. you're talking about one of them per year, it could take years before conditions improve across california. but you take a look. it has led to flooding across parts of the vineyards well-known across central and southern california. powerful winds came in on monday afternoon. 40 to 44 miles per hour at napa. so very windy conditions. this particular one doesn't have

as much moisture with it. you're looking at the water vapor imagery. kind of pick out a couple of storms, one of them beginning to approach you as another one exited on monday. we take a look at the prospective here. heavy rain possible on tuesday. as we look into wednesday, another round possible. stop it for you early tuesday afternoon. down towards monterey bay you should see heavy rainfall by tuesday afternoon. from midnight to 1:00 in the morning on wednesday, los angeles and the vicinity get heavy rainfall. another pieces of energy pushes in on wednesday into thursday. significant, still accumulations possible in the high sierras. we need these storms to be very cold, because the snowpack very important as far as water reserves throughout the year. san francisco, 1 to 2 inches of rainfall could come down. actually on thursday, san

francisco picked up 3.5 inches of rainfall. in 2013 they picked up about 3.25 inches. the december average is about 116 millimeters. or four and a half inches. look at the comparison. things are steadily improving across california, john. >> the local news services are dusting off their storm watch 2014. they've been waiting for this for a very long time. thank you. well, a rare northern white rhino has died at a california zoo, and that leaves only five of them, count them, five, anywhere in the world, which brings it all, the white rhino closer to extinction. he was 44 years old when he died of old age at the san diego zoo.

the zoo is home to one of the five remaining white rhinos. the others are in captivity in africa and the czech republic. an extremist sympathyizer acting alone. still to come the obama administration is trying to solve its guantanamo bay dilemma, and you may be surprised about the help which the administration is now seeking. that new car smell ♪ ♪ chicken parm you taste so good ♪ ♪ nationwide is on your side ♪ ♪ mmm mmm mmm mm mmm mm mmmmmm ben! well, that was close! you ain't lying! let quicken loans help you save your money.

and welcome back to our viewers in the united states and all around the world, just on 9:30 on the west coast of the united states. i'm john vause.

let's check out the headlines. this was the scene a short time ago as the prime minister paid his respects at the site of the deadly hostage standoff. well-wishers and mourners have been leaving flowers. the prime minister is set to have a news conference. we will bring that to you as soon as it happens. police in pennsylvania are hunting a man accused of killing his wife and family members. the former marine reservist had been in a custody battle with his ex-wife. hong kong's chief executive is urging people to reflect on the meaning of real democracy as police clear the last main protest site. monday was the deadline for protesters to remove their tents that had been in place for 79 days. they complied but say the fight for democracy is not over yet. experts say the lone wolf attack that occurred in sidney is the most likely type of terrorism to

happen on u.s. soil. jim sciutto reports these assaults are difficult to prevent because the terrorist may already be in the target country. >> reporter: the brazen hostage taking at a downtown sydney cafe ended with a risky police operation. and bloodshed. the assail and, man ha-ron monis believed to have carried out the attack on his own. such lone wolves are the terrorists most likely to strike on u.s. soil. >> the new phenomenon that i'm very concerned about is somebody who's never met another member of that terrorist organization, never trained at one of the camps, who is simply inspired by the social media, the literature, the propaganda, the message to commit an act of violence in this country. ? i would say the most likely type of attack is one of these

home-grown, violent extremist or lone offenders in the united states. and the rise of isis and the number of people going to syria, when they're fighting with isis or fighting just in the conflict there against assad, the likely hood does go up. >> reporter: the threat grew more grave with an islamic declaration, he called for lone wolf attacks against all members of the anti-isis coalition including australia and u.s. since then there has been a attack in canada and against police with a hatchet.

they often don't communicate by e-mail or telephone with operational leaders, making them harder for intelligence agencies, such as the nsa to track and capture them. >> while we're never going to stop these kinds of attacks, the good news is they tend to have limited impact. there are fewer victims, fewer dead. and in the end, that may be the standard for success in this new era of terrorism. >> our thanks to jim sciutto reporting in there from washington. and after the hostage situation in sydney, many australians have been showing solidarity against islam phobia with th ththe the #i'llridewithyou. it's intended to show solidarity with australia's muslims. this twitter map shows i'll ride with you is trending across the

world. thousands of messages in support for the campaign. it all began with a social media post from a woman who saw another woman take off her head covering to hide her religion. i said put it back on, i'll walk with you. she started to cry and hugged me for about a minute and walked off. tv producer tessa coombs saw it and said if you don't feel safe alone, i'll ride with you. and then tessa writes, maybe start a hash tag. tessa talked to the bbc by phone. >> i saw one tweet that was just a very small act of kindness to a frightened muslim woman on public transport and that pretty much broke my heart. and it seemed like that should

be something there should be more of in the world. i can't say i planned this at all. it has been amazing to watch it take off. >> reporter: the response has been overwhelming. one post on twitter says thanks for protecting my sisters. and this tweet, being muslim in the wake of a terrorist attack can be horrifying. thank you australia for i'll ride with you. and one wrote, i'll ride with you is everything that is right with the world. i just cried reading people's posts. darkness always brings out the light. we will move on to other news here. several officials from the george w. bush administration are denouncing last week's report on harsh cia tactics. dick cheney is unapologetic.

he says using water board and other such techniques did not amount to torture, adding he'd do it again in a minute. mr. cheney says the cia's action pale in comparison to those of terrorists targeting americans. u.s. secretary of state john kerry wants the vatican's help. he met with officials in the vatican. the secretary is seeking adequate humanitarian solutions for guantanamo bay prisoners. they want to transfer detainees to other countries. and kerry's boss says the coalition is slowing the advancement of islamic extremists. and now with the administration planning to end the combat mission in afghanistan, he told them the united states is moving

past the time for large deployments, aimed at nation building. >> so stepping back for a moment, we're at a turning point. when i took office, we had nearly 180,000 troops in iraq and afghanistan. by the end of this month, we'll have fewer than 15,000 in those two countries. we've now brought home about 90% of our troops. 90%. >> okay. hollywood, you may have heard, is reeling after hackers leaked more documents from sony executives, including some embarrassing e-mails. the company is trying to reel in those secrets, but the hackers say there's a lot more to come. ♪ >> reporter: james bond appears to be battling a new enemy not on the big screen. the sony hackers who call themselves guardians of peace are believed to have stolen an

early version of the script for the upcome willing bond movie "specter." they said we are preparing for you a christmas gift. it will give you much more pleasure and put sony pictures into the worst state. >> i have a gift for you. >> oh, oh, this dog is killing me with its cuteness. >> reporter: christmas day is when this movie is set to release, a movie about kim jong-un. >> i don't think this is a time to withdraw. i think it's a time to stand your ground. they've already weathered a strong attack. >> reporter: sony is still deciding when to accepter parts of the film showing the assassination for international audiences. tonight federal investigators are looking into whether north korea is behind the unprecedented hollywood hack that has opened up a treasure trove of confidential information from sony and

embarrassing e-mails about a-list celebrities like angelina jolie and george clooney. the latest leak shows clooney was apparently upset by the bad reviews of his world war ii drama "the monuments men" e-mailing, i fear i've let you all down. not my intention. i apologize. i've just lost touch. in an e-mail exchange, pascal called leonardo dicaprio's behavior despicable after he backed out of the steve jobs story out next november. >> there are very intelligent people doing this. they know how to damage the studio. >> reporter: as the leaks slowly trickle out, david boyce was hired who septembernt a threate

letter. he says if the stolen information is used or disseminated by you, sony will have no choice but to hold you responsible. >> david boyce is going to argue that this is stolen material, that the media is aiding and abetting a burglar in the night who's broken into a computer, stolen material and is now trying to get the benefit of it. on the other side, media outlets are going to say, hey, this is material of enormous public interest. and it doesn't matter how it came into our hands, the public has a right to know what goes on in this very important industry. >> reporter: pamela brown, cnn, washington. well, still to come, we're waiting on that news conference from the australian prime minister tony abbott. also ahead, two years since the shooting rampage at a school that left six adults and 20 children dead. some parents are holding the gunmaker responsible.

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political appointment. he's an advocate of obamacare as well as gun control. and two years after the massacre at an elementary school in newtown, connecticut, some parents are suing the company who manufactured the rifle. the shooter used the ar-15 rifle shown on the left. the suit has been filed against the manufacturer, distributor and seller of the rifle. robert goalson talks to the victim's family. >> my sister had her whole life in front of her. >> reporter: families of nine victims and one surviving teacher filed a wrongful death lawsuit against bushmaster and others. ? they willingly and knowingly distributed this gun that killed my sister. >> reporter: adam lanza used an

ar-15 inside the school in less than five minutes. he killed 20 children and six educators. >> they're not asking to take away anybody's guns. they're just asking for somebody to acknowledge that maybe these particular guns they don't need to make money off of. >> reporter: the number of lives in those seconds was made possible by the shooter's weapon of choice and time and again mentally unstable individuals have acquired these ar-15s with ease and have unleashed the rifle's lethal power in our streets, malls and places of workship and schools. >> my clients are frustrated. they want some acknowledgement, some accountability from a real participant in this. >> reporter: attorneys say these gun companies may be protected under a federal law that shields

them from action resulting from use of their guns. vickie soto's sister believes they should take blame. >> bushmaster created this gun and sold it knowing the damage that it does, knowing that it's continuously used for humans to assault one another. and they knew this. >> and that was robert ghoulston from our affiliate. new documents have been released in the grand jury investigation of michael brown's death. we see how witness testimony impacted their decision not to indict the officer who fatally shot brown. >> reporter: more than two weeks after a st. louis county grand jury did not indict officer wilson in the killing of michael brown, new revelations about the evidence that drove their decision. witnesses admitted to lying. >> some witnesses admitted they

didn't actually see the shooting or only saw a part of the shooting or only repeating what they had heard on the street. >> reporter: others changed their story. the grand jury had to figure out who and what to believe. >> this is demonstrating to the citizens what people in the justice system have known for a long time, that eyewitness testimony -- and we will leave that report right there. we'll go to sydney, australia to listen to the prime minister tony abbott. >> the incident and not only millions of people here in australia but tens if not hundreds of millions of people around the world have been focused on the city which has been touched by terrorism for the first time in more than 35 years. this has been an absolutely appalling and ugly incident. that's the only way of describing it. an appalling and ugly incident.

our hearts go out to the families of katrina dawson and tori johnson. these were decent, good people who were going about their ordinary lives. it's about as innocent a thing as anyone can do, to go and grab a cup of coffee before the working day has fully started. dece decent, innocent people who got caught up in the sick fantasy of a deeply disturbed individual, and we've seen the consequences of this play out, to talk about operational matters should that be necessary. but if i could say on behalf of the national government and the australian people, to you deputy commissioner burn, everyone has been impressed by the speed of

the new south wales police response, the thoroughness of the preparations that they made and the professionalism of the action that they took, once it became obvious that people are inside the cafe, were being taken out by this deluded and sick individual. as well as feeling very proud of the new south wales police, i think that every sydney citizen can feel proud of the way this city has handled one of the most difficult 36 hours in our history. people have gone about their business. and in the aftermath of the end of the siege last night, people have responded with typical australian decency and generosity. and the spontaneous shrine which has developed now in martin place is so much an expression

of that innate goodness and decency, which is a mark of the australian character. the tragedy of these times is that there are people, even in a society such as ours, who wish to do us harm. we are not immune to the politically motivated violence, which has for so long stalked other countries. but over the last 36 hours, we have responded to this in character, with grit, with stoicism, with e-kwan i. and i believe australia will always be a free and open and generous society. and we've seen in just the last day or so australians opening their hearts to members of all

the different communities which make up this rich and multi-cultural city. it's pretty obvious that the perpetrator was a deeply disturbed individual, a long history of crime, a long history of mental instability and infatuation with streextremism. it's interesting that the isil death cult attracts people like that. i refuse to use the term islamic state, and i would strongly caution anyone from anywhere using that term, because that exalts a movement which has nothing to do with any real religion and is a travesty of a true and just state.

it is very wrong to identify the death cult that the individual concerned tried to associate himself with. it is very wrong to identify that death cult with any community, with any faith. the phrase that i like to refer to, added by my friend the prime minister of malaysia, it's against god, against religion, against humanity. finally, let me just say that we have seen in the worse of times the best of people. it really is extraordinary to see the crowds of sydney siders in martin place right now paying their respects to those who suffered, to those who died and

to those who served. it is a sign of our good character as a people and as a country. finally, can i just say what a rock of stability and reassurance, a rock of steadfastness premier mike beard has been, not just for the people of new south wales, but for the australian people, and if you'd like to add to these remarks i'd be pleased. >> thank you, and i do thank you for your support. the federal government's support during these very trying hours that we've had to face over the last day and a half. i certainly want to start by saying, as you start to see the stories unfold, the victims whose lives have been lost. it is hard for our heart not to become a little heavier, young australians with a huge, huge future going about their daily lives. there is nothing sadder or more

tragic than what we have seen. and our taughoughts and prayers to their family and friends. we know they will deal with it and we want them to know, when there's despair there's also hope and a positive spirit that we have seen. and i just want to say thanks to the new south wales police. what i have seen in the last 36 hours is incredible. their professionalism, their determination, how they have gone about their business has been nothing but exemplary. i'm very proud of them, and indeed, as i get comment after comment across the community how proud they are of the new south wales police. and they have every right to be so. they have done an incredible job in difficult circumstances. and i want to thank them for what they have done. and the prime minister and i had an opportunity to go and thank

some that have worked very hard at the police center, many without sleep, going around the clock to ensure that every chance was given to getting out as many hostages as we could. and secondly, and really lastly, i just want to say thanks to this city. i mean, this city is amazing. its people are incredible. and what you are seeing in martin place right now as it unfolds, it is almost as if a beating heart of the city is being put in place. that's what those flowers represent to me. it is showing us that this city is alive. it is beating. despite the challenges. despite the tragedies we've endured. it is people saying they care. they are coming alongside the victims' families. they are coming alongside everyone that is feeling the weight of what we have seen in the last 36 hours, and as we look at that heart start to

beat, my encouragement to the state is look at the hope, look at what we can do when we come together, feed on that hope, because my strong sense is we're going to come out of it stronger. so i thank you to everyone who has participated. i know the city, i know the state is getting a lot of comfort from it. it is an incredibly symbolic gesture that is holding us high while we deal with these circumstances . okay, are there some questions? >> prime minister, you mentioned that this man had a long history of being known to police. what would you say as to how this was allowed to happen? >> that's a very fair question. and after the initial shock has passed that's precisely the question members of the public are entitled to ask. and if i can be candid with you, that was the question we were asking ourselves around the national security committee of the cabinet today.

how can someone who has had such a long and checkered history, be on watch lists, and how can someone like that be entirely at large in the community. these are questions that we need to look at carefully and calmly and methodically to learn the right lessons and act upon them. that's what we'll be doing in the days and weeks ahead. you might know that since we started to get terrorist chatter of acts of random violence against australian citizens, we have been upgrading our security. you see the parliament house in canberra, the raising of the terror alert to high, you've

seen it with the new legislation that's gone through the parliament and in the substantial boost to funding for our police and security agencies. so we have been responding effectively, i believe, appropriately i'm sure, to the intelligence that we've been getting over time, but obviously, now that this incident has taken place, not withstanding the fact that the new south wales and other agencies responded so well, we do have to ask ourselves the question, could it have been prevented. let me offer this thought. and the commissioner might like to say something here. even if this individual, this sick and disturbed individual, had been front and center on our watch lists, even if this individual had been monitored 24 hours a day, it's quite likely,

certainly possible that this incident could have taken place. because the level of control that would be necessary to prevent people from going about their daily life would be very, very high indeed. that said, we are always looking at what can be done better. we are always looking at what lessons can be learned and how things can be improved. >> thank you, prime minister. obviously in the coming days and weeks we'll be in a position to answer those questions. for now it's important to reenforce that this is what security agencies and police in this country and political leaders have been saying for the last few weeks and months, that this is an important concern for agencies in this country, the