A suspected terrorist has seized the Lindt cafe in Sydney, holding all the people (believed to be about 30 of them) inside hostage, making them hold up to the window a black flag with white writing on – a flag that is believed to represent the Islamic State (IS, ISIS or ISIL).
It’s pretty shocking stuff, which Australian authorities are taking very seriously. However, some people, who think that Australia’s very own terrorist moment is a cute little novelty, have taken this opportunity to take a selfie outside the incident. One photo on Twitter shows three grinning guys, one holding up the V-fingers, outside the scene.
Nine News reports, ‘In one of a number of photos to surface on Twitter this afternoon, three mates are seen smiling into the camera with police tape in full view behind them.’
They’ve been criticised by other Twitter users, one saying, ‘I love a selfie, but how is this ok?’
We figure there are two theories as to why these guys did it: either they wanted to distance themselves from the situation they stumbled upon, trying to digest an unfamiliar situation in a familiar way, to make it digestible. Or they are just massive pricks with no empathy.
They’re not the only people to react controversially to the siege by doing what they normally do – Uber has sparked yet another controversy by hiking up prices going to areas around the siege. The Sydney Morning Herald reports that prices in the CBD, where the Lindt cafe is increased to a point where the minimum charge was $100 (£52.59), but this was due to ‘“surge pricing”, which sees the cost to use the app rapidly increase when supply is limited’.
The ensuing outrage meant that the company – that’s been forced to introduce caps on surges in the US following surges during natural disasters – is now offering everyone in the CBD free rides today. How many cab drivers want to brave it is another issue entirely…
So far, police have helped three men and two women escape the siege. The assailant’s demands are not yet known.
Follow Sophie on Twitter @sophwilkinson
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This article originally appeared on The Debrief.