Sydney--The Iranian-born gunman behind last year's deadly siege in an Australian café was secretive and prone to grandiose claims but was even shunned by a motorcycle gang which found him "weird", an inquest heard Monday.
The 17-hour standoff in Sydney's central business district in December, which ended with the deaths of two hostages along with gunman Man Haron Monis, shocked the country and sparked fears about national security.
At the reopening of the inquest, which began in January and is being held amid high security, New South Wales state coroner Michael Barnes said he would look deeply into the background of the former religious scholar and self-styled cleric.
He said the "despicable actions of Mr. Monis", who took more than a dozen people hostage at the Lindt cafe in Martin Place, required special investigation because they raised questions of national significance.
"Was Monis a so-called lone wolf prosecuting an ISIS-inspired terrorist act, or was he a deranged individual pursuing some personal private grievance in a public manner?" he asked, referring to the Islamic State group.
The detailed inquest would examine whether Monis could have been deported, detained or stopped and whether the siege could have been ended without the loss of lives, Barnes added.
Cafe manager Tori Johnson and barrister Katrina Dawson died when heavily-armed police stormed the building and shot Monis dead.
Johnson was shot dead by Monis at point-blank range while mother-of-three Dawson was hit by a ricocheting bullet as police moved in.
The incident sparked an outpouring of grief in Sydney with a huge makeshift memorial of flowers near the scene. The cafe reopened in March with simple gold plaques remembering the pair.
AFP
