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Sydney Siege Hostage Tells of Relief Following His Daring Escape In Video

Australia now launching investigation into how the gunman dropped off security watch list, made bail on sex and accessory murder charges.
Photo via ABC News Australia

Five hours into a harrowing siege at a bustling Sydney café Tuesday, John O'Brien — who had ducked into the Lindt café for a quick morning coffee but found himself among 17 hostages being held at gunpoint by a lone wolf gunman — knew he had to get out, or end up dead.

O'Brien, 82, was standing with his hands pressed against the window as ordered by the hostage-taker, when he turned to the man next to him, lawyer Stefan Balafoutis, and said, "look, this is not going to end well, this guy will never get out of here alive, and he's going to take everyone with him," according to the Sydney Morning Herald.

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The ordeal lasted almost 17 hours and ended in the tragic deaths of two hostages and the gunman, 50-year-old Man Haron Monis, an Iranian-born political asylee with a storied criminal past.

O'Brien, a former tennis pro, had been in the café for nearly six hours when he and Balafoutis became the first to escape. After managing to obscure himself from Monis' line of sight, O'Brien found the green button that would allow the doors to open. At roughly 3:45pm, the pair bolted out of the doors and ran down Martin Place to awaiting police.

In a statement to reporters, O'Brien said he had "never felt such a relief as I did when I turned that corner and saw the armed police waiting."

Courtesy ABC News Australia

Over the next few hours, several other hostages managed to slip out after the two men, but it wasn't until armed police stormed the café just after 2am, throwing flash grenades and firing weapons, that the siege ended.

Café manager Tori Johnson — hailed as a hero for his efforts in trying to wrestle Monis' shotgun away from him — and lawyer and mother of three Katrina Dawson were both killed in the standoff. O'Brien paid tribute in his message to them Wednesday, and offered "heartfelt condolences to their friends and family."

O'Brien said he is now happy to be at home with his wife, Maureen, but has said he has been "very stressed" since the incident and suffering from a lack of sleep.

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Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott announced Wednesday that authorities will launch an investigation into the siege, including how Monis eluded Australia's recently implemented and sweeping new security and anti-terror laws.

Monis, a self-styled cleric, had been known to police since 2012 for penning a series of spiteful letters to the families of dead Australian soldiers who fought in Afghanistan. He was also on bail for an accessory murder charge for the gruesome killing of his ex-wife and 40 counts of sexual assault.

Monis was granted political asylum in 1996, and had been on a national security watch list until 2009, Abbott said Wednesday. The investigation will seek to find out how Monis managed to obtain permanent residency and get out on bail, as well as buy a shotgun without having a gun license, the prime minister said.

"We particularly need to know how someone with such a long record of violence, such a long record of mental instability, was out on bail after his involvement in a particularly horrific crime," said Abbott. "And we do need to know why he seems to have fallen off our security agencies' watch list, back in about 2009."

Sydney siege gunman was on bail for dozens of sex assault charges and accessory to murder. Read more here.

Follow Liz Fields on Twitter: @lianzifields