Armed police end standoff outside NSW Parliament House in Sydney

Heavily armed New South Wales (NSW) Police have used fire extinguishers and crow bars to end a three-hour standoff outside the NSW Parliament in Sydney, local media reported on Friday. The NSW Parliament House had been placed in lockdown after a man, with what police believed was a container of flammable liquid, in a white car drove up onto a footpath outside the Parliament building demanding Premier Barry O'Farrell leave the building. The man who had threatened to use a lighter to set fire to himself had been sitting in the car since 11 a.m. (local time), negotiating with police. Following more than two hours of standoff, police stormed the car at around 2 p.m., smashing its windows and injecting a gas canister before pulling the man out of the car. The man was arrested and a fuel can containing liquid was removed from the car by police. NSW Police Assistant Commissioner Mark Murdoch told reporters after the standoff that the driver is a 58-year-old man from Woolongong in NSW. "When that man attempted to light a cigarette lighter, wind the windows of the cars up, with what we believe to be a container of flammable liquid in the vehicle, those officers put their lives on the line this afternoon and they resolved the situation in a peaceful manner," Murdoch said. He said negotiations started with the person in the car in an attempt to have him get out of the vehicle. "Those negotiations continued until 2:00 p.m. at which point the man attempted to ignite a cigarette lighter," he added.