R.I.P. Tori Johnson and Katrina Dawson.
Via SMH:
THE manager of the Lindt cafe who was fatally shot in the Martin Place siege is being praised as a hero, responsible for allowing others trapped in the cafe to escape.
Tori Johnson, 34, was wrestling a gun from hostage-taker Man Haron Monis when he was killed.
It is understood the cafe manager decided to take action when the hostage-taker began to doze off after the siege had been ongoing for 17 hours.
He lunged at the gunman’s weapon, enabling others to flee.The second hostage killed has been identified as Katrina Dawson, 38. The mother-of-three is the sister of well known Sydney lawyer Sandy Dawson.
Ms Dawson was tragically killed trying to defend her pregnant friend, AAP reports.The NSW Bar Association has released a statement this morning.
“Katrina was one of our best and brightest barristers who will be greatly missed by her colleagues and friends at the NSW Bar,” Bar President Jane Needham SC said in a statement.
“She was a devoted mother of three children, and a valued member of her floor and of our Bar community.
“Our thoughts are with her family at this time, including her brother, Sandy Dawson of Banco Chambers.”
The barrister had been having coffee with her pregnant colleague when the cafe was taken over by the gunman. Her children, aged eight, five and three, were being informed of the tragic outcome this morning The Australian reports.