Two hostages who have been killed in the 17-hour-long hostage drama at a cafeteria here were identified as the manager of the Lindt Chocolate cafe and a lawyer.
The 38-year-old lawyer, Katrina Dawson, was a mother of three young children who became the victim of the siege.
She was a barrister at Selbourne Chambers and was married to Paul Smith, a partner at Mallesons.
Dawson studied law at Sydney University, where she lived at the women’s college as a student. She did her clerkship at Mallesons where she met her husband.
Lindt Chocolate cafe’s 34-year-old manager, Tori Johnson, was also killed in the siege operations on Monday.
He had worked at the cafe since October 2012 and at a string of other restaurants and hospitality companies around Sydney.
Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott today said: “Tragically, there are people in our community ready to engage in politically motivated violence. The events in Martin Place also show that we are ready to deal with these people professionally and with the full force of law.”
“Yesterday, Premier Baird showed great steadfastness and Sydneysiders can be proud of their calm during what was a very difficult and testing day,” he added thanking New South Wales (NSW) Police and all the other agencies involved for their professionalism and courage.
“Australians should be reassured by the way our law enforcement and security agencies responded to this brush with terrorism,” he said.
The Prime Minister added that there is nothing more Australian than dropping in at the local cafe for a morning coffee and it’s tragic beyond words that people going about their everyday business should have been caught up in such a horrific incident.
“Our hearts go out to all of those caught up in this appalling incident and their loved ones. On behalf of all Australians, I extend my sympathy to the families of the two hostages who died overnight,” Mr. Abbott said.
He warned that the country was vulnerable to politically motivated violence.
“These events do demonstrate that even a country as free, as open, as generous and as safe as ours is vulnerable to acts of politically motivated violence.
