SYDNEY — 2014 · Major Tragedy

The Lindt Cafe Siege

ClosedSources: ALast updated: 14 October 2026

At 9:44 am on 15 December 2014 a gunman took 18 people hostage at the Lindt Chocolat Café in Sydney's Martin Place. During the siege of about 16 hours, hostages were forced to hold a flag against the window and the city centre was locked down. After midnight on 16 December, when the gunman killed café manager Tori Johnson, tactical police stormed the café. The gunman was killed in the operation, and barrister Katrina Dawson died from ricocheting police bullet fragments. Several other hostages and a police officer were injured. The coronial inquest findings released on 24 May 2017 found that police had been too slow to act and that the bail system had failed.

Date: 2014
Place: Martin Place, Australia, Sydney, AU
Category: Major Tragedy
Case Status: Closed
Coordinates: -33.8676, 151.2105 ↗

Timeline of Events

15 December 2014A gunman took 18 people hostage at the Lindt café.
16 December 2014Police stormed the café; two hostages and the gunman died.

January 2015The coronial inquest into the deaths began.
24 May 2017Inquest findings set out police and bail-system failures.

Sources

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