'POLICE SHOULD HAVE MOVED IN EARLIER IN SYDNEY SIEGE'

Police responding to a deadly hostage crisis in a Sydney cafe underestimated the gunman’s threat and should have stormed the building earlier, rather than waiting to act until the gunman had killed a captive, New South Wales state Coroner Michael Barnes said Wednesday after concluding a 2-½ year inquiry. The findings follow intense criticism from many of the 18 hostages and families of the victims, who have long questioned why police waited nearly 17 hours to enter the Lindt Cafe and end the December 2014 siege. Police moved in only after an erratic Man Monis fatally shot cafe manager Tori Johnson. Monis was then shot dead by police and another hostage, lawyer Katrina Dawson, was killed in the crossfire. /