A 38-year-old mother-of-three was one of two hostages who died in the Sydney siege that ended just after 2am today when police stormed a Sydney cafe killing the gunman who’d taken them and 15 others captive.
It was unclear whether Katrina Dawson died before or during the shootout between police and lone gunman, Man Haron Monis, a 50-year-old self-described Muslim cleric who was on bail on a number of serious charges, including accessory to murder and sexual assault.
The other hostage killed was a 34-year-old man who Seven News identified as Lindt Cafe manager, Tori Johnson, who is being praised as the hero of the hostage situation.
Nine News is reporting Mr Johnson was wrestling a gun from gunman Man Haron Monis when he was killed. It is understood the 34-year-old decided to take action when the hostage-taker began to doze off after the siege had been ongoing for 17 hours.
He and Ms Dawson were pronounced dead after being taken to hospital, marking a tragic end to the protracted siege inside the Lindt Cafe in Sydney’s Martin Plaza. The New South Wales Bar Association released a statement about Ms Dawson.
“Katrina was one of our best and brightest who will be greatly missed by her colleagues and friends at the NSW Bar,” it said. “She was a devoted mother of three children, and a valued member of her floor and of our bar community.”
Two other members of the NSW Bar were held as hostages with Ms Dawson.
Fairfax described Ms Dawson as a mother of three and rising star at the commercial bar. She was a highly respected barrister from Eighth Floor Selborne chambers in Phillip Street, and the younger sister of prominent defamation barrister Sandy Dawson and McKinsey & Company director Angus Dawson.
The Ascham old girl topped the state in the Higher School Certificate in 1994, with a TER of 100, and topped her bar exams, Fairfax reported.
She has three children aged under ten – two girls and a boy. The youngest, a girl, is four years old.
The gunman, identified as Man Haron Monis, was shot dead by police after they entered the cafe around 2.10 am. It was later revealed he was on bail on a range of charges including being an accessory to murder and sexual assault.
Four people – three hostages and one police officer – were wounded in the violent climax to the siege.
*Read the rest of the article at http://thenewdaily.com.au/news/2014/12/15/sydney-siege/