Death came quickly to Moammar Gadhafi after revolutionary fighters found him on Thursday morning, ushering in a sudden end to a dark chapter of Libyan history that most would like to forget.
"We have been waiting for this moment for a long time. Moammar Gadhafi has been killed," Libyan Prime Minister Mahmoud Jibril said from Tripoli Thursday.
U.S. President Barack Obama told Libyans: ""You have won your revolution."
Caught in his hometown of Sirte, the tyrannical Libyan despot refused to bow down in the final moments of his life.
Footage shown on Al-Jazeera television showed that Gadhafi was wounded and bloodied, but alive when he was caught, and he struggled against the fighters who dragged him towards an ambulance.
"We want him alive. We want him alive," one man could be heard shouting.
Fighters drove him around lying on the hood of a truck, parading him in public, while he was still alive. One man held him down, pressing on his thigh with his shoe in a show of contempt.
Conflicting reports have not made it fully clear what happened next, but he didn't have long to live.
Revolutionary fighters say Gadhafi asked them not to shoot him. But somebody did.
"Somebody shot him by gun," said a burly revolutionary fighter who said he witnessed the Libyan dictator's death.
It appears Gadhafi was trying to flee the city in a convoy that was struck by French warplanes. He survived the attack and returned to a compound which was swarmed by revolutionaries.
A fighter named Adel Busamir told AP Television News that Gadhafi was found in the compound, which was once built to house visiting dignitaries.
"We found him there," Busamir said. "We saw them beating him (Gadhafi) and someone shot him with a 9mm pistol...then they took him away."
A fighter who spoke to the BBC showed reporters a golden pistol that he claimed to have taken from Gadhafi, who was known throughout his life for his eccentric dress and style.
Gadhafi was 69 years old when he was killed.
Until the recent uprising, Gadhafi had ruled Libya for more than four decades and held a seemingly unassailable grip on power.
But he spent the last few months of his life in hiding, as revolutionary fighters slowly toppled the crumbling remnants of regime.
After Gadhafi was killed, his body was stripped to the waist and paraded through the streets of nearby Misrata.
People took photos and videos of his bloodied corpse, which quickly made their way online.
Eventually, Gadhafi's body was brought to a hospital in Misrata, where doctors concluded he died from bullet wounds to the head and the chest.
But even the doctors were among those celebrating the end of the Gadhafi era.
"You can't imagine my happiness today. I can't describe my happiness," said Abdel-Jalil Abdel-Aziz, a doctor who was part of the medical team that accompanied the body to the hospital.
"The tyranny is gone. Now the Libyan people can rest."
Khadija Ali, a reporter at the Tripoli Post, told CTV News Channel on Thursday afternoon that Gadhafi's body has since been taken to a mosque in Misrata.
Fighters seize Sirte
News of Gadhafi's death arrived hours after reports indicated that Sirte, his remaining stronghold, had been captured by Libyan fighters.
Video footage filmed in the Mediterranean town on Thursday shows civilians and soldiers spilling into the streets, rejoicing as they hoist rifles into the air.
"Our forces control the last neighbourhood in Sirte," Hassan Draoua, an NTC member told The Associated Press in Tripoli earlier that day. "The city has been liberated."
In the past, Libya's new leaders have said that they'd formally declare the country "liberated" from Gadhafi's dictatorial grip once Sirte was captured.
In Libya's capital Tripoli -- which was captured by fighters late August -- citizens gathered in the streets to celebrate Gadhafi's death by shouting "Allahu Akbar" or "God is Great," the Associated Press reported.
Gadhafi's death and the seizure of his hometown represent the opening of a new chapter in Libya's history, said CTV News' London Bureau Chief.
"The Transitional council has said that once Sirte is captured and once Gadhafi is off the stage, they'll move to elections eight months from now," Tom Kennedy told CTV's Canada AM on Thursday.
But before Libya's transitional council can move forward with fresh plans for the embattled country, the NTC must confirm reports of his death, said the director of the University of Toronto's Munk School of Global Affairs.
"They will need to provide his body or really strong DNA evidence to assure the population that he's gone. That's the first challenge," Janice Stein told CTV's Canada AM on Thursday.
Stein pointed out that Gadhafi has been a persistent and looming force in Libya for 42 years. Most adults in Libya have never lived without his presence, she noted.
"It's almost been very difficult for people to imagine a future without him and that's been part of the struggle in Libya," she said in a telephone interview from Toronto.
While the self-proclaimed "King of Kings" has retained a few pockets of support in Libya, Seemungal said most have reacted happily to reports of Gadhafi's death.
"I don't think there's going to be a lot of people, certainly not in the Arab world, that are going to be crying over this today," he said.
The International Criminal Court (ICC) has had a warrant out for Gadhafi's arrest since May.
Warning: Some readers may find the photo of Moammar Gadhafi's dead body to be disturbing. CTVNews.ca has decided to post video showing the former Libyan leader as the image is important in substantiating and confirming the deposed dictator's demise. Click here if you wish to view the image.
