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So theres no training behind this. Theres no standard attack in any of this. So, actually, we can see it going any way. But i think the i think the longer it goes on without violence the more likely there wont be any. Welcome back, everybody. Im john vause at the cnn center. Im natalie allen. Thank you for joining us. Weve been here several hours with this breaking news out of australia. And we will continue to bring you the latest now. And wed like to welcome our viewers in the United States and all around the world. Wed like to give you the update now. A gunman is Still Holding an unknown nu...

>> it's not something i can confirm at the moment, and it's not particularly useful to actually confirm potential numbe numbers. for people who we might be dealing with who might have concerns that a friend or a relative or a loved one might be in that building, we have set up our -- >> nb[ inaudible ]. how many maybe inside. >> that is a tactical, operational imperative. >> why is that so sensitive? >> because at this point everything has to be about the safety of the people in the location. so it's important we don't confirm at this point. >> that's catherine burn, the deputy police commissi...

>> with an australian -- >> with an australian tinge. >> that's what we know. and we've also been told police know who they're dealing with, but they're not letting us know that. earlier we spoke with roger shanahan. he's a former australian army colonel. he's a middle east expert and a fellow at the middle east center for policy. he thinks the hostage taker chose his location for maximum international impact. here's his comments. >> it's going to be very difficult obviously to determine what the whole purpose of this was until we find out more about the hostage taker, but i think the fact tha...

People. they said it in the past. and also in australia. so the concern is that this kind of flag in concert with the fact that he appears to be an individual doing it in such a public way. you think that might be his expression of his belief in what isis stands for. but as you pointed out, it could also well be possible that he's somebody with mental issues. >> should we have heard any kind of statement from i.c.e. at tsi point? they're very active on twitter, social media, they love to get their memorandum out. has there been any kind of support support for this guy? claim of responsibility ...

Sydney. we thank you again. and it's interesting, isn't it, john, that police aren't saying much at all, but this man, whoever he is, has reached out to the media -- >> and maybe this is the point. sorry. didn't mean to interrupt. but maybe this is the point, that the police don't want him getting his message out and they've managed to stop him at every turn. he contacted a radio station, two tv stations, and it's only now, nine hours into this that really his demands, his message is actually getting out there. >> well, hopefully they do have a plan, they're working on this to figure out how t...