Interactive timeline: Here is what happened in Sydney on Monday

An armed tactical response police officer grabs a hostage as she flees from a cafe under siege at Martin Place in the central business district of Sydney, Australia, Monday, Dec. 15, 2014. New South Wales state police would not say what was happening inside the cafe or whether hostages were being held. But television footage shot through the cafe’s windows showed several people with their arms in the air. (AP Photo/Rob Griffith)

An armed gunman entered a Sydney cafe during Monday morning’s rush hour and took an unknown number of hostages. Hours after the crisis began, five people escaped but a number of others remained inside. As night fell, there were no reports of injuries and the gunman’s motives remained unclear. The appearance of a black flag with Arabic script in the cafe window raised concerns of a terrorist incident.

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