Partner of café manager killed in Sydney siege speak out

The partner and family of the café manager killed during the Sydney hostage siege on Monday have paid tribute to their “humble and generous”

Tori Johnson was one of 17 people taken hostage during the 16-hour siege at the Lindt Chocolat Cafe in Sydney on Monday (December 15). The 34-year-old was killed while trying to wrestle the gun off Man Haron Monis, who was later shot dead by police.

Speaking for the first time since the tragic events, Johnson’s partner of 14 years, Thomas Zinn, has thanked people for their support and explained that he wants his partner to be remembered as a “generous person.”

“I would like him to be remembered as a humble and very generous person,” Zinn told Today. “He made it very clear that family was the most important thing in our lives and that we have to cherish that and spend enough time with our families. That was an absolute priority.”

“Tori loves flowers and this is probably the most beautiful thing,” he added, referring to thousands of flowers that have been laid at the site of the attack. “I’m sure he can see it. When I was down there yesterday, I could smell the flowers through Sydney, and I think it’s just amazing that he has been able to make our city smell like flowers. I think there is no more beautiful thing that he could have imagined.”

Tori Johnson and Katrina Dawson

Zinn went on to read a joint statement from the families of Johnson and the siege’s other fatality, Barrister Katrina Dawson, 38, who died while trying to protect her pregnant friend from gunfire.

Read the full statement below:

As you can imagine this is a very difficult time for our family. We are experiencing unimaginable grief but when we look at the sea of flowers, with all the heartfelt messages and the crowds of supporters at Martin Place, we know that this grief is shared by the whole country – and the rest of the world.

This tragedy will remain with us forever but the uniting effects of this week and how they have galvanised our city, our country, makes us even more proud of Tori and Katrina – and proud of all Australians. We would like to extend our love and condolences to Katrina’s family – to her children, her husband and loved ones. We stand beside you through this difficult time. We also send our love to the other hostages and their families. We hope that they can recover swiftly from this traumatic experience.

We want to thank all of the brave people who were present at the event. In particular, we would like to thank the NSW Police and Crime Commission, the Australian Federal Police, paramedics and all of the emergency services that worked tirelessly through the night and made sure that we – and all of the other families -were taken care of. We are incredibly moved by your patience, empathy and dedication.

We also want to thank the many people who have supported us and continue to stand by us through this tragedy; from close friends to complete strangers -the outpouring of love, kindness and generosity has been overwhelming. The people of Lindt Chocolates as well the people at Intercontinental Hotels Group have also been very supportive. We cannot undo the events of December 16, but it has made our diverse community even stronger and more unified.

From the bottom of our hearts, thank you all immensely.

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