A suspected sex offender has shot two police officers dead execution-style and taken his family hostage in the bushland in Australia.
Dezi Freeman, 56, reportedly went on the run with his wife and two children after being suspected of gunning down the two officers at a farm in Porepunkah, 300km northeast of Melbourne.
It is believed 10 police officers were carrying out a warrant relating to historical sex abuse allegations at the property when the tragedy occurred.
Freeman, who lives in a bus with his family, allegedly gunned down two of the officers with a shotgun as they entered the vehicle and blasted the third in the legs, the Herald Sun reported.
‘Straight-out execution,’ a source told the newspaper before it was confirmed a 59-year-old detective and a 35-year-old Senior Constable were killed.
It’s understood the 59-year-old victim was just days away from retirement.
The third officer was shot in the thigh and is undergoing surgery at a Melbourne hospital. One of the slain officers was reportedly only weeks away from retiring.
The remaining seven police officers are still at the property and are unharmed, Victoria Police said.
Local man Dezi Freeman (above) is allegedly on the run with his wife and two children after being suspected of gunning down the two officers ‘execution-style’ at a farm on Rayner Track near the base of Mount Buffalo in Victoria’s alpine region on Tuesday
Police near the scene where two police officers were killed and another was wounded at a property near Porepunkah, 300km northeast of Melbourne
Police negotiators at the scene
Scores of police officers have now arrived in Porepunkah, population 1,024, located 6km from the popular tourist town of Bright, and four hours from Melbourne
Freeman, who is ‘very well’ known to police and allegedly took firearms from the dead officers, is believed to have taken his family hostage and fled the scene as scores of officers, including detectives from the Armed Crime Squad and Fugitive Squad, search the rugged wilderness for him.
Heavy gunfire prevented local police from entering the property as they waited for Special Operations officers to arrive.
Police from the Special Operations Group and Critical Incident Response Team are now at Porepunkah, population 1,024, located 6km from the popular tourist town of Bright.
‘It’s believed the offender has since left the property and at this time his whereabouts are unknown,’ Victoria Police said in a statement.
‘A significant search is actively underway to locate the man.
‘We urge the public in and around the township of Porepunkah to remain indoors until further notice.
‘We also ask people not to travel into the area.’
Freeman is believed to be a member of the ‘sovereign citizen’ movement – a radical group that follows conspiracy theories and believes governments to be illegitimate.
He is thought to have changed his surname to reflect his sovereign citizen belief that he is independent from recognised government, court or police control.
Police said Freeman is ‘well known’ to them
Porepunkah residents have been told to stay indoors
The father-of-two is renowned locally for his previous run-ins with authority and even with his own neighbours in the remote, close-knit community.
‘He has a cuckoo-ness about him,’ said one resident who described him as ‘disrespectful’ to local authorities.
‘He is anti-police, anti-Commonwealth law. I suppose you could call him a conspiracy theorist or one of those alternative people.’
Locals said the shootings occurred near Mount Buffalo Caravan Park, which officers are searching.
Campers in tents have been shifted to secure cabins and police have advised people not to leave keys in their cars.
Emily, whose mum owns Mt Buffalo Caravan Park, spoke to the Daily Mail from her family’s locked-down caravan park.
‘We’re all ok but a bit rattled, stuff like this doesn’t happen here,’ she said.
Children at Porepunkah Primary School have been picked up by their parents after being in lockdown since 11.30am.
Jill Gillies, the school’s principal, earlier told ABC radio: ‘we’re all safe and calm and having the best time we possibly can under the circumstances.’
Heavy gunfire prevented local police from entering the property as they waited for Special Operations officers to arrive at the scene
It is believed 10 police officers were executing a warrant at Freeman’s property
The Victoria Police Air Wing arrives in Porepunkah
Alpine Shire Council has closed all its facilities including transfer stations, libraries and Visitor Information Centres and depots, the council’s customer service centre in Bright, and the Bright Sports Centre.
Chief Commissioner Mike Bush made heartfelt announcement live from Wangaratta Police Station where he gave his condolences to the families of the slain officers.
‘The suspect for this horrific event is still at large, we believe he is armed,’ Chief Commissioner Bush said’
‘Our priority is to arrest him, to ensure he is held to account for his actions.
‘We thank those courageous officers, in fact we thank every police officer who comes to work every day to keep their community safe.
‘We will do everything to look after the families of those officers.
Chief Commissioner Bush confirmed the ‘suspect’ was ‘heavily armed and dangerous’.
The top cop who only recently became chief of Victoria Police said the officers were ‘murdered in cold blood’.
‘We are still looking to locate his partner and two children, but he was not seen to head into the bush with them,’ he said.
He also believed the suspect had ‘several’ guns on him and there was no evidence that the suspected gunman had left Porepunkah region.
‘We have nothing to suggest he’s fled the area. But we are keeping a very open mind,’ he said.
Premier Jacinta Allan has advised Victorians to follow police advice.
In a statement posted to X on Tuesday just after 1.30pm, Ms Allan said the ‘thoughts of all Victorians’ were with the police force following the shootings.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said he was ‘very concerned for some of the police officers who are involved’.
Australian Federal Police Commissioner Reece Kershaw said ‘our thoughts and prayers are with Victoria Police right now’.
Victoria Police Chief Commissioner Mike Bush said there was no evidence Freeman had fled Porepunkah (pictured)
‘We hope that they are all safe and well, however, we’re hearing there are some grave concerns for some of those police officers and our hearts go out to the community.’
The latest tragedy has chilling similarities to the Wieambilla shootings that claimed six lives almost three years ago.
Conspiracy theorist Gareth Train, his wife Stacey and his brother Nathaniel, gunned down Queensland constables Matthew Arnold, 26, and Rachel McCrow, 29, during an ambush on a rural property in the Western Downs area, west of Brisbane on December 12, 2022.
The pair were shot at close range within 10 minutes of entering the property to conduct a welfare check on Nathaniel, who was reported missing at the time.
Two other constables – Keely Brough and Randall Kirk – escaped the initial ambush when their colleagues were killed.
Good Samaritan neighbour Alan Dare, who lived nearby, was also murdered by the Trains when he came to investigate after he spotted smoke billowing from the property.
The Trains were subsequently killed in a gunfight with police that night.
