AFP/Sydney
Ricochets from police gunfire killed one of the two hostages who died in a 16-hour siege at a central Sydney cafe in December, an inquest into the deadly stand-off heard yesterday.
In graphic details of the stand-off which shocked Australia, the coroner was told that the other victim was made to kneel down and shot in the back of the head after a group of hostages escaped from the Lindt chocolate cafe.
The shooting of cafe manager Tori Johnson by Iran-born gunman Man Haron Monis led to the order for police to storm the cafe in the early hours of December 16, with the ensuing gunfire leading to the death of barrister and mother-of-three Katrina Dawson.
“Ms Dawson was struck by six fragments of a police bullet or bullets which ricocheted from hard surfaces into her body,” said the counsel assisting the coroner’s inquest, Jeremy Gormly. “She lost consciousness quickly and died shortly afterwards.”
Dawson, 38, and Johnson, 34, were among 17 hostages caught up in the cafe siege, which raised questions about why Monis - who had a history of extremism and violence - was at large despite facing charges including abetting the murder of his ex-wife.
Early accounts of the crisis had said Johnson died after trying to disarm Monis, but Gormly said he was shot by the 50-year-old attacker with a sawn-off shotgun just moments after several hostages escaped.
“Johnson was made by Mr Monis to kneel on the floor of the cafe,” he said.
“After a short lapse of time, Mr Monis simply shot him without further notice or warning in the back of the head,” he added, noting that the barrel of the gun was about 75cm from the cafe manager’s head when the weapon was discharged.
Outside the court, one of the hostages who escaped in the first few hours, 82-year-old John O’Brien, told news.com.au it was “upsetting” to hear about Johnson’s final minutes.
O’Brien and other survivors are likely to be called on to give evidence during the inquest, which will outline what happened, hear about the hostages’ experiences, investigate how police managed the siege, and delve into Monis’s background and motivations.
A separate investigation commissioned by the federal and New South Wales governments is set to submit a report in the next few days. The inquest will review the report’s findings.
Gormly said the killing of the cafe manager was witnessed by a police marksman, which led to the order for police “tactical operatives” to storm the building.
Some 22 shots were fired by the officers after 11 flash bangs were thrown into the room, while Monis fired two shots, the hearing was told.
“Bullets and fragments of bullets hit Mr Monis, who was, it seems, killed instantly,” Gormly said, adding that two bullets or bullet fragments hit the gunman in the head and 11 others hit him in his body.
Monis fired a total of five rounds from his shotgun during the stand-off, though none of them struck any of the hostages apart from Johnson, according to Gormly.
The inquest will look into Monis’s claims his actions were an attack on Australia by the Islamic State group, a brutal jihadist organisation that has captured swathes of territory across Iraq and Syria, and whether he had any terrorist associations.
But Gormly noted “at present it seems he had not established any contact” with the militant organisation.
Australia raised its threat level to high in September and carried out a series of counter-terrorism raids following a flow of its nationals to Iraq and Syria to fight with Islamic State and other jihadist groups.
Sydney siege hostage John O’Brien addresses the media at the New South Wales Coronial Inquest into the Sydney siege.
