Dezi Freeman remains the target of a major manhunt after allegedly executing two policemen and injuring a third in an ambush attack in Porepunkah. Follow our live coverage.
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6.12am
Family of suspect in police shootings comes forward
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Victoria Police have accounted for the whereabouts of the suspect’s family following the fatal shootings of two on-duty police officers.
Dezi Freeman’s partner and children went to a police station late last night. No evidence suggests the family was with the suspect after the incident, according to Paul Hogan, a Victoria Police spokesman.
“There’s nothing to suggest that the family was in the company of the suspect following the fatal shootings yesterday, well, let’s be frank, the murders yesterday, where two on-duty police officers were shot and killed, ” he said.
There is an ongoing, large-scale search for Freeman, the suspect allegedly responsible for the murders.
“My colleagues went to work yesterday and they didn’t get to come home. So if you know something, pick up the phone call triple zero. Call Crime Stoppers,” he said.
6.19am
Who is Dezi Freeman? Alleged shooter’s background revealed
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Dezi Freeman, a radicalised conspiracy theorist with a documented hatred for police, is the suspect in the fatal shooting of two police officers.
His erratic behaviour had become so extreme that his wife had expressed concern to a neighbour just a week before the incident.
Following the alleged murders, Freeman stole the officers’ guns and remains on the run, while his family is accounted for and safe.
6.26am
What weapons does Dezi Freeman have?
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The 56-year-old is armed with a home-made shotgun, a rifle and at least one handgun stolen from a slain officer, according to police sources not authorised to speak publicly.
Ten officers entered the property just after 10am to serve a search warrant, when three members were blasted with gunfire.
6.33am
Police move roadblock in Porepunkah
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Grant McArthur is in Porepunkah reporting on the search.
Police have moved a roadblock in the town, McArthur says, but say the situation remains active and residents are still being asked to lock their doors and remain inside.
The scene at Porepunkah, about 300 kilometres north-east of Melbourne, on Tuesday.Credit: Jpe Armao
They say operations have moved, not concluded.
