Overnight, an ISIS terrorist held 30 people hostage in a Lindt chocolate cafe in Sydney, Australia. They were let out in a rescue mission on the morning of 15 Dec., with three dead, one of the people killed being the ISIS terrorist, according to ABC News. The hostages were kept for 16 hours, but several escaped earlier. On 15 Dec., heavily armed policemen burst in and freed the hostages, the siege unsettling the citizens of Sydney and other parts of the world watching.

The hostages were forced to hold up the ISIS flag in the shop window, according to Mail Online. People started becoming suspicious when they noticed people putting their hands up against the front window of the Lindt cafe on 14 Dec. This was an order of the ISIS terrorist Man Haron Monis, armed against the hostages. Several pictures show an unknown man, one of the hostages, holding his hands up in a surrendering position under an Islamic flag, the dramatic picture causing more chaos in social media and the world alike. Now, major swathes of the city are under lockdown, with the potential threat of four bombs hanging over their heads, according to The Telegraph.

During the whole ordeal, all television stations were switched to the news, and the airspace above Sydney was closed. Several “exclusive zones” were set up. These are areas of the city, that if you work in that area, you aren’t allowed to work until they go back down. Schools were closed down, and many students missed the last week of school for that year. The police have also been on high alert, according to several sources.

Man Haron Monis, the terrorist, claimed that there are bombs hidden around the city. Many people are nervous as the holiday season gets ever closer to Christmas, when people would be out buying last-minute gifts. However, people are positive that the police force can handle the bomb threats and anything else that may happen.

I got the chance to talk to 16-year-old Jonathan, who lives in Sydney. Jonathan says that when the new first got out, “Everyone was pretty much shocked… everyone was pretty scared that more things like this would happen.” He says he’s nervous about another terrorist attack, but he knows that Australia can handle this.

The attack was surprising and wasn’t expected, but it raises awareness about ISIS, which has taken a back seat to other events around the world. Hopefully, ISIS will not attack again, and other countries will help, maybe with armed forces and by raising awareness. No matter what happens, awareness is being raised all around the world, and people are uniting through social media and armed forces to stop the ISIS attacks.