A business card bearing the name of Sydney siege victim, Lindt Cafe store manager Tori Johnson, is pictured among photos of him wearing a red shirt at an impromptu memorial in Martin Place December 17, 2014. Tough new national security laws failed to prev
IN PHOTO: A business card bearing the name of Sydney siege victim, Lindt Cafe store manager Tori Johnson, is pictured among photos of him wearing a red shirt at an impromptu memorial in Martin Place December 17, 2014. Tough new national security laws failed to prevent a deadly hostage crisis in the heart of Sydney this week, Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott said on Wednesday, raising questions about the usefulness of such measures. REUTERS/Jason Reed

Sydney Siege victim Tori Johnson was humble and generous, his partner of 14 years described him. Thomas Zinn visited Martin Place to pay tribute to his slain partner, who would have loved seeing the flowers left for him near the Lindt Café.

Johnson died early Tuesday morning at the hands of gunman Man Haron Monis, who took the staff and customers of Lindt Café on Monday as hostages. According to a report, he was shot at a close range by the hostage-taker after a group of other hostages was able to escape, and just before the police barged inside the premises.

Talking with “Today” host Lisa Wilkinson, Zinn said his partner would be touched if he could see the flowers that have been left for him at the Martin Place memorial by strangers.

“Tori loved flowers. This is probably the most beautiful thing – I’m sure he can see it – that he has ever seen,” he said in the interview. “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.”

Johnson is one of the three people killed during the hostage drama. The others were barrister Katrina Dawson and Monis. Both Johnson and Dawson’s families have paid tribute to their fallen beloved at the makeshift memorial, where thousands other people have offered their condolences to them.

“I’d like him to be remembered as a humble and generous person. He really made it clear that family is the most important thing in our lives. And that we have to cherish that and make sure we spend enough time with our families, that’s an absolute priority,” Zinn said of his partner, whom he hoped to marry one day.

“We cannot make the 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,” he read a letter from the family.

Johnson has been hailed a hero after reports emerged saying he tried to overpower the gunman. Later reports also claimed that he was killed at a close range by Monis. Dawson’s death was more ambiguous. It was earlier feared that she died during the final standoff between Monis and the police, but according to the preliminary ballistics report, she died from the gunshot fired by the hostage-taker.

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Sydney Siege Victim Killed by Man Haron Monis, Preliminary Report Suggests
Sydney Siege Hero Tori Johnson Shot by Hostage Taker Man Haron Monis at Close Range – Report