Tuesday, December 16, 2014

Faces of the hostages: Heroic Sydney cafe manager, 34, shot dead as he grabbed terrorist's gun to protect others - and the brilliant young barrister and mother of three, 38, who died in hospital after the siege

Faces of the hostages: Heroic Sydney cafe manager, 34, shot dead as he grabbed terrorist's gun to protect others - and the brilliant young barrister and mother of three, 38, who died in hospital after the siege 

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2873855/Gunman-takes-hostages-cafe-Sydney.html

  • Tori Johnson, 34, and Katrina Dawson, 38, were killed during a terrorist siege at Sydney's Lindt cafe
  • Mr Johnson, the cafe manager of two years, tried to wrestle the gun from the hostage-taker before he was shot
  • His parents, Ken and Rowena, have described him as a 'beautiful boy' as tributes flow in for the victims  
  • Police stormed the cafe in central Sydney where a gunman held hostages for more than 16 hours
  • Officers moved in firing automatic weapons and throwing grenades as hostages were seen fleeing
  • Three women had to be treated for gunshot wounds and another two for non life-threatening injuries
  • Male police officer was among those injured after he was wounded by a gunshot pellet to his face
  • Thousands of people have gathered at Martin Place to lay flowers, some in floods of tears
  • Live TV footage showed hostages running frantically from the cafe at shortly after 2am in small groups
  • It came hours after gunman Man Haron Monis was named as the person holding people hostage 
These are the faces of the innocent victims forced to endure some 16 hours of hell as they were held hostage in Sydney's terrorist siege. 

Tori Johnson, the manager of the Lindt cafe in Martin Place, and mother-of-three Katrina Dawson were the two hostages killed during the bloody climax.

Mr Johnson, 34, was shot dead after he tried to wrestle the gun from Islamic extremist Man Haron Monis inside the cafe just after 2am on Tuesday.


Ms Dawson, a 38-year-old whose children are all under 10, died in hospital. She was a barrister at Eight Selborne Chambers in Sydney's Phillip Street, opposite the site of the siege.

The remaining hostages were able to make a break for the exit of the cafe about 2am after the gunman began to fall asleep - more than 16 hours after he took 17 people captive.  
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The 34-year-old manager of the Lindt cafe, Tori Johnson (left), and mother of three Katrina Dawson, 38 (right), have been named as the two hostages killed during the Sydney siege on Tuesday morning
The 34-year-old manager of the Lindt cafe, Tori Johnson (left), and mother of three Katrina Dawson, 38 (right), have been named as the two hostages killed during the Sydney siege on Tuesday morning
'Omg Elly!! So glad you're OK': Ms Chen, pictured, was the fifth hostage, scrambling from the cafe with her hands in the air
Two men, believed to be customers, ran around a corner and hid behind heavily armed police after six hours inside the cafe
Lindt employee Elly Chen (left), lawyer Stefan Balafoutis (middle) and John O’Brian (right) were among the first to escape  
She was also forced to post a list of demands on her Facebook page saying the 17 hostages needed help
Marcia Mikhail, 42, (left) is a Westpac executive and Harriette Denny, 30, (middle) and Jieun Bae, 20, (right) are Lindt employees
Lawyer Julie Taylor (left), 19-year-old Jarrod Hoffman (middle) and Fiona Ma (right) escaped the frightening ordeal
Composed: At least three female captives, including Selina Win Pe (pictured) were forced to read Monis' list of demands which included a phone conversation with Australian Prime Minister, a public declaration that the attack was being carried out by Islamic State terrorists, and the delivery of an Islamic State flag to the Lindt chocolate cafe
Westpac employees Selina Win Pe (left), Viswakanth Ankireddy (middle) and Puspendu Ghosh (right) 
Joel Herat (left) , who worked at the Lindt Chocolat Cafe, and Paolo Vassallo (right), the supervisor at the Cafe, found themselves hostages
Ms Dawson, who leaves behind her husband Paul and their children, Chloe, Sasha and Olive, was having a coffee with a pregnant colleague when the siege unfolded. Her children were unaware she was involved until Tuesday morning, the Australian reports.  
One of the pregnant women in the cafe at the time, Julie Taylor, was also a colleague of Ms Dawson and had to be treated in hospital following the ordeal. 
Lawyer Stefan Balafoutis was one of the first three men to escape the cafe about 3.45pm. He works in the 10th Floor Selborne/Wentworth Chambers, which is directly above Lindt.
Dressed in a bright blue blazer, 83-year-old John O’Brian, was the first out of the cafe when he escaped with Mr Balafoutis.
Marcia Mikhail, 42, was among those hostages forced to record a chilling video message listing the hostage-taker's demands. She was carried out of the cafe by two emergency services workers with blood running down her leg and is still recovering in hospital. 
Harriett Denny, a fellow employee, ran from the cafe with five other hostages shortly before police issued their gunfire assault. The 30-year-old's father who lives in Queensland was forced to watch the horrific incident unfold on TV.
Viswakanth Ankireddy, a software engineer at tech giant Infosys, was working for Westpac in Martin Place when he was caught up in the siege. His Westpac colleague, Puspendu Ghosh, also escaped the siege unharmed. 
Jarrod Hoffman, 19, and Fiona Ma were also among the hostages, the Daily Telegraph reports. 
Selina Win Pe escaped unharmed after she was also forced to relay demands via a recorded message that were subsequently posted online during the siege.  
Joel Herat, who lists his workplace as ‘Lindt & Sprüngli’ on Facebook, was another of the hostages to upload a haunting hostage clip on his YouTube account.
Within half an hour, the video was taken down by YouTube and the account was deactivated.
Paolo Vassallo, who was among the first hostages to escape on Monday afternoon, is a married father of three. After escaping, Vassallo was taken to hospital due to a pre-existing medical condition. He was later reunited with his family, reports ABC. 
As Australia mourned the dead, thousands of people gathered at Martin Place to lay flowers
As Australia mourned the dead, thousands of people gathered at Martin Place to lay flowers
Sydney resident Kate Golder cries as she observes the site of a cafe siege in Martin Place
Sydney resident Kate Golder cries as she observes the site of a cafe siege in Martin Place
Many of those office workers, friends and tourists leaving tributes were in tears
Many of those office workers, friends and tourists leaving tributes were in tears
NSW Police Commissioner Andrew Scipione visited the scene outside the Lindt cafe on Tuesday morning
NSW Police Commissioner Andrew Scipione visited the scene outside the Lindt cafe on Tuesday morning

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