Gunman used disabled woman as human shield during siege
A 50-year-old disabled woman is recovering in a Sydney hospital after being used as a human shield by the gunman who was shot dead during the Martin Place siege.
Louisa Hope was celebrating Christmas with her mother when both women entered the Lindt Cafe.
Moments later they were taken hostage, and Ms Hope, who requires a walking stick to move, was forcibly dragged with the gunman around the Cafe.
The former Macquarie Bank executive has multiple sclerosis.
Witnesses say the gunman hand-picked Ms Hope as a shield because of her disability.
Hope's close friend and neighbour, Dennis Maxwell, told Newscorp, "He’s [the gunman] picked her as the shield because she’s crippled, she can’t fight back."
The siege lasted for more than 16 hours.
Two hostages were killed and six people were injured, including Ms Hope's 75-year-old mother who received a gunshot wound to the shoulder.
Ms Hope was shot in the foot and has shrapnel wounds to parts of her body.
Both women are in a stable condition in hospital.
Hope's brother, Robert Honan, told the Courier-Mail he was unsure if his older sister was still alive.
"We knew she was one of the last ones out and that three people had been killed so the chances of her being one of them was pretty high," Mr Honan said.
The Sunshine Coast father said his sister is expected to remain in hospital for a month.
Investigations into the siege are ongoing.
Morning news break – December 18
