Sydney – IN PHOTOS: Thousands Of Australians Lay Flowers At Siege Site

Sydney – Tearful Australians laid mounds of flowers at the site where two of 17 hostages were killed Tuesday when police swooped into a cafe to rescue them from a gunman — an Iranian-born self-styled cleric described by the prime minister as a deeply disturbed person carrying out a “sick fantasy.”

The 16-hour siege that ended in a barrage of gunfire early Tuesday left the gunman, 50-year-old Man Haron Monis, dead, and a nation that has long prided itself on its peace rocked to its core.

But the most visible reaction the day after the siege came in the form of mountains of flowers blanketing the pavement at Martin Place, where the siege began during Monday morning’s rush hour. The gunman burst into the Lindt Chocolat Cafe, took 17 people inside hostage and forced some to hold a flag with an Islamic declaration of faith above the shop window’s festive inscription of “Merry Christmas.”

“I’ll never forget this day as long as I live,” said Jenny Borovina, who was in tears with two friends while carrying white flowers to the site. She predicted that the effect of the standoff would leave a permanent scar on Australia’s psyche. “Our laid-back nature has just changed,” she said.

Like so many who work in the area, Borovina said she was locked down in her office near the cafe for more than four hours Monday before police gave her the all-clear to leave. During that time, she said, she called her son to say take care. She also called her aunt, asking her to look after her son if she didn’t make it out alive.

“Australia was a really safe place before,” said Andrea Wang, who laid a bouquet of lilies at the site, near her office.

“I hope our country gets through this very quickly,” she said, adding that her family from China had been calling. “They worry about me in this country.”

Abbott joined the outpouring of national mourning and laid a bouquet at Martin Place, a plaza in Sydney’s financial and shopping district. He called the spontaneous shrine “an expression of the innate goodness and decency which is a mark of Australian character.”

In the hours after the bloodshed, many struggled to come to terms with the incongruous nature of the attack, which took place at a cheerful cafe as people filed in for their morning coffees.

“It’s shocking that it has happened to people like us that are just going out for a coffee,” said Michael Gardiner, a visitor from the western city of Perth, who recalled sitting in the cafe about a year ago. “But it’s beautiful to see everyone coming here. There’s a real sense of community.”

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