Dramatic CCTV footage of the last moments of the Sydney cafe siege in 2014 has been released.
The footage shows the moment police raid the cafe to end the 17-hour siege in Australia’s commercial capital, which ended with two hostages and the gunman dead. The video was shown to an inquest looking into the circumstances around the deaths from the Lindt Cafe siege. The siege took place on Dec. 15, 2014, when a self-described Islamist gunman—later identified as Man Haron Monis—entered the cafe and took 17 hostages.
The CCTV footage shows the climatic moment police were triggered into action. Monis had reportedly told cafe manager Tori Johnson to get on his knees, before shooting him in the head. (This is not shown in the footage.) Police stormed the cafe and set of flash grenades after the shotgun fire and ended the siege within minutes. The second victim, cafe customer Katrina Dawson, died after being hit by a “ricocheting police bullet,” according to the BBC.
The situation feels like a long time ago, coming before the bloody Charlie Hebdo and Bataclan and restaurant attacks in Paris and numerous terror plots around the world—including today’s attacks on Brussels airport and its metro system. More police around the world are being trained to follow in the footsteps of Sydney’s police and kill terrorists rather than negotiate with them.
Monis was killed after sustaining multiple gunshot wounds. The inquest is expected to deliver their findings sometime this year.