As the Sydney hostage crisis unfolded across television screens around the world, one man in Ottawa was glued to his monitor, nervously waiting for news about his sister-in–law.
Hours into the ordeal, Michael Mikhael finally caught a glimpse of Marcia Mikhael on TV. She was injured and being carried out of the Lindt Chocolat Cafe where a gunman took 17 people hostage.
“I kind of screamed: ‘Oh, this is Marcia!’” Mikhel told CTV Ottawa. “Thank God she is alive and I hope everybody will be alive … And then I broke down in tears.”
Marcia Mikhael, 52, was shot in the foot and will require surgery. She was one of four people injured in the siege. Three others – two hostages and the gunman – were killed when police stormed the café after a 16-hour standoff.
Despite her injuries, Mikhel said his sister-in-law, who attended the University of Ottawa, is doing well. She is still in hospital and he hopes to talk to her soon.
Mikhel said the gunman, 50-year-old Man Haron Monis, forced Marcia and other hostages to record video messages.
He said his family spent many dark hours worrying what would happen to Marcia.
“All you think about is the bad things – she may not make it, she may die, she may suffer,” he said.
Since the siege ended, crowds of mourners have been gathering at Martin Place, where the Lindt café is located, to leave flowers and notes.
The two hostages who were killed have been identified as Katrina Dawson, a 38-year-old lawyer and mother of three, and Tori Johnson the 34-year-old manager of the Lindt cafe.
With a report from CTV Ottawa’s Joanne Schnurr
