"They've killed my beautiful boy" were about the only words a distraught Ken Johnson could muster before the news of his son's death sapped his strength.
Tori Johnson didn't make it out alive when the siege at the Lindt Cafe in Sydney's Martin Place came to a violent and fatal end just after 2am on Tuesday.
The 34-year-old manager of the cafe was killed, along with 38-year-old mother-of-three and lawyer Katrina Dawson.
Tori Johnson's aunt, Lyn Whittaker, said her brother Ken was so heartbroken by the loss of his son that he was left speechless after giving her the bad news as dawn broke on Tuesday.
"The phone rang about 4.30 in the morning and it was Ken, my brother, and he said 'they've killed my beautiful boy' and he couldn't speak anymore," Ms Whittaker said on Thursday.
"The police officer came on and told my husband that Ken couldn't speak any more and this is what has happened.
"Tori had copped a bullet from this terrorist and he had gone."
Ms Whittaker described her nephew as a "very brave boy".
"He really was everything. He had all the qualities of just a beautiful soul."
"I don't know if he tried to take over, to protect the other people, but we were told he had a lashing first," she told ABC Radio on Thursday.
"The gunman gave him a bit of a whacking, and then the bullet went off, he lunged at him and the bullet went off."
Ms Whittaker also voiced her support for a review into the circumstances that led to the siege, and stronger bail laws.
"Something's got to be done to stop these people from being out on the streets," she said.
Ken Johnson made an emotional visit to the growing sea of flowers acting as a shrine in Martin Place on Wednesday, shaking the hands of stranger.
"This love comes for free," said Ken Johnson.
"We want to thank everybody for supporting us through this terrible time."
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