Two police officers confirmed dead after shooting north-east of Melbourne

Two police officers are dead after a shooting at a rural property in Porepunkah in north-east Victoria.

Porepunkah is a town in northeast Victoria, Australia on the Great Alpine Road, at the foot of Mount Buffalo 320 kilometres northeast of the state capital, Melbourne and 5 kilometres northwest of Bright.

Reading the links it seems the incident is still going on.

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-08-26/victoria-police-incident-porepunkah-injur...

In short:

Two police officers have died and another has been wounded after a shooting at a property in Porepunkah, near Bright in Victoria's north-east.

A large operation involving dozens of police units is underway and people have been urged to avoid the area.

What's next?
Police are expected to provide an update late on Tuesday afternoon.

The police know who the shooter is, yet they haven't released his or her name or photo.

Seems a bit strange.

Bobby. wrote on Aug 26^th, 2025 at 4:42pm:


Ah.

My thoughts on SovCits from a few days ago:

"Extremely dangerous, mentally ill morons."

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-15033921/Porepunkah-victorian-high-coun...

Local man Dezi Freeman (below) 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's Track near the base of Mount Buffalo in Victoria's alpine region on Tuesday

SovCit.

Say no more.

I warned everyone about these lunatics just last week.

Anyone who identifies as a SovCit should be arrested and interrogated, as a precaution.

They are mentally ill and very dangerous.

Oh my just saw an extensive story on the guy. Talk about harassed a lot by cops. Since about 2018.
He said somewhere that police were thugs.
Well not all but… it comes to mind that poor kid dropped to the concrete floor at a train station (Bobby has put that vid up) by cops. That kid ended up dying as a result of injuries.

I know someone personally who’s a sov cit and was harassed to the point he put up signs around the fence perimeter of his property as a warning to keep out. Well if you know our shire… it’s the worst one ever… they wouldn’t allow him to build a house on the land, declared it as land slip.
So they had no choice but to sell up and leave.
Lo and behold, the new owners were allowed to build a house on that property in a short time after.

Setanta wrote on Aug 26^th, 2025 at 7:18pm:



A prophet?

Yes - I correctly predicted the End Times which are here now.

Sophia wrote on Aug 26^th, 2025 at 7:17pm:



So much for equal Rights.

This guy will resist....

Sir Grappler Truth Teller OAM wrote on Aug 26^th, 2025 at 8:16pm:


He'll probably shoot himself.

Some people question why the CIRT wasn't used?

The Critical Incident Response Team.

A safer way to get him is to wait till he went to say the supermarket
and have plain clothes officers arrest him when he is near his car -
on the way out with an armful of groceries.
To go to his home territory when you know he is armed -
sounds like a silly thing to do.

Sir Eoin O Fada wrote on Aug 26^th, 2025 at 9:24pm:



The cops have revealed so few details - we just don't know.

Sophia wrote on Aug 26^th, 2025 at 9:59pm:


He did not have a firearms license guns were unregistered.

If he was already under Firearm Prohibition Order the Police can rock up anytime and search his home without a warrant.

https://www.theage.com.au/national/victoria/police-work-that-turns-deadly-202508...


When police headed to Porepunkah to deliver a warrant, they had conducted a risk assessment, checking for any prior convictions and previous behaviour of the resident.

He was known to be eccentric, a “sovereign citizen”, a sucker for conspiracy theories and a hater of police, blaming them for some of his problems. All would be flagged on the police computer system to forewarn those who would deal with him.


He changed his name to Dezi Freeman to reflect his bizarre political convictions. He is a man who believes the rules don’t apply to him and that he is a persecuted victim. In short, he is a weirdo with a grudge. But being a weirdo with a grudge doesn’t make you a killer.

Clearly police were wary, with 10 officers assigned for the job, probably to help search the property or respond if things became ugly. This was a job they knew could go nasty, but no one thought it would turn deadly.

And it did turn deadly within moments of the police entering the property. It’s early days in the investigation but planned or unplanned, this looks like an ambush.

Loading
It is understood police had previously seized weapons from Freeman, but it’s believed he still had a homemade shotgun and a high-powered hunting rifle.

Risks are graded. High risk may require SOG, critical incident response team or public order response team support.

Inquiries into how this case was graded and the allocation of resources will be conducted in the weeks and months ahead.

Police, uniformed and detectives, went to the property to deliver a summons and conduct a search.

And then it happened. While details are scarce, it is alleged the suspect opened fire, killing two police and injuring a third.

He lived on a bus on the property behind a security gate. He allegedly shot and killed two officers as they entered.

Police have yet to release the names of the two police killed but it is understood one was a much loved local detective, 59, weeks from retirement, and the second, a Melbourne officer, 35, working in the area on temporary secondment.

It is believed Freeman took one police 40-calibre Smith and Wesson semi-automatic pistol with 30 rounds of ammunition from a fatally wounded officer.

A third officer, shot in the thigh, was able to take shelter. Even though there were seven police there, it took an hour for an extraction team to rescue him due to the ongoing risk from Freeman. The injured policeman, a local officer, has been flown to The Alfred hospital for surgery.

An SOG crew, including specialist snipers, was flown by helicopter to the scene. There are now hundreds of police involved in the hunt.

Porepunkah was placed in lockdown with the killer fleeing into the bush. This will make the SOG manhunt complex. Chief Commissioner Mike Bush says he wants the matter resolved peacefully with the arrest of the suspect. That will entirely be a matter for Freeman.

The property is heavily wooded. Police will search knowing the offender may have already set up ambush points, built hidden camps and possibly booby-trapped areas.

The initial police report suggested an ambush, similar to the Queensland extremist Christian attack carried out by offenders with a sovereign citizen background.

In December 2022 police went to a property in Wieambilla on what they thought was a routine missing persons inquiry.

It was a planned ambush that resulted in constables Matthew Arnold and Rachel McCrow and neighbour Alan Dare being shot dead.

The offenders, brothers Gareth and Nathaniel Train, and Gareth’s wife, Stacey Train, were shot dead by police following a siege.

As in the Queensland attack, it is likely that ASIO will assess whether the Porepunkah shooting was a terrorist act.

Detectives and intelligence experts will ask, was Freeman was waiting for police; was he planning an ambush?


Bush has begun his five-year term with a low-key approach. Now he will need to lead from the front in the most awful circumstances.

It is every chief commissioner’s nightmare. A police funeral with full honours for a member shot on duty.

For Bush, there will be two.

Given the information below it certainly appears to have been poorly planned.

I would suggest that dealing with someone who appears to have a serious mental Illness and known to be in possession of high powered firearms is something I would take extremely seriously and I would not be knocking on his front door or walking casually onto his property.

More , much more importantly. These. Officers are just like us, they leave behind grieving families and didn’t deserve to die . They were at work and there work involved keeping us all safe.

It’s a tragedy.

The only positive I can take from this is that they have quite possibly saved dozens of people from being shot , the man is certainly unhinged and has proven to be killer.
What  he may have been planning could have been a mass  shooting event?

I suspect his got a plan and has slipped away into the bush.

I hope that those searching know a little about traps.

This bloke was known to Police who also knew of his Sovereign Citizen claim.

Obviously the Victorian Police must go about with their heads up their arses.....

they didn't learn one thing from the Wieambilla incident where two Police Officers shot & killed by the Train Family when they attended a farmhouse in December 2022.

The Trains were the same sort of people as this Dezi Freeman - Sovereign Citizens and Conspiracy theorists.

Also having a heavy arsenal of unregistered weapons.

Hopefully we'll see this headline soon:

"Shooter found dead in bush land with self-inflicted gunshot wound"

Bobby. wrote on Aug 27^th, 2025 at 4:10pm:


Any update on the “ magistrate “ name would be most welcome!

Funny how our court ruins lives but don’t put a name to their terrible decisions ?

Gnads wrote on Aug 27^th, 2025 at 1:06pm:


Sadly, you're right - they didn't learn a thing.

All SovCits should be considered dangerous, especially those known to have guns.

They must always be treated with extreme caution - they are literally insane and could do anything at any time.

I just hope the shooter does the right thing and uses one of his guns on himself.

I'm almost certain he will.

greggerypeccary wrote on Aug 27^th, 2025 at 5:59pm:

Any Sovereign Citizen who is known to have guns will be immediately arrested as a Sovereign Citizen would not, as a matter of principle, apply for a gun licence.

Sophia wrote on Aug 27^th, 2025 at 6:36pm:


No one said or suggested that.... though a sovereign citizen might.

Sovereign citizens that make the headlines have proven they are bad - and it's for all the wrong reasons.

So if your friends don't fit the mold as to these types then they're not really a sovereign citizen type.

They are just more your disgruntled citizen .....

and in this day and age with what's going on - who is not? 

Sophia wrote on Aug 27^th, 2025 at 6:36pm:


Don't worry, if we were talking about another insane ideology, Islam, Gregg would be taking the opposite tack.

Gnads wrote on Aug 27^th, 2025 at 7:37pm:


Oh yes, disgruntled enough to exercise rights, freeman, name in capitals, whatever else was said, it just goes in one ear and out the other with me. 
He’s a fighter, he’s got a 3rd Dan black belt taekwondo.
He has guns.
Now… about 5 years before we had that gun amnesty … he had guns the cops wanted him to hand in… so he did. He had a receipt of having handed them in etc.

Well get this…. talk about corruption in the police force… his gun ended up resurfacing 2 years later in Tasmania! 

It was found out some coppers were stashing these guns handed in so they on sold them! Black market!

Since then, when guns are handed in… there’s a big window/glass barrier, where you see your gun being destroyed.
I saw this…when we handed in our pump action shot gun.

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-08-27/alleged-porepunkah-shooter-dezi-freeman-g...




5h ago


In short:

Alleged gunman Dezi Freeman last year told the Supreme Court his firearms licence had been cancelled while appearing in court on another matter.

Mr Freeman identified himself to the court as a disability pensioner and claimed his family was persecuted by the state.

What's next?
Police are continuing a significant search for Mr Freeman, who is believed to be armed and dangerous, after two police officers were shot dead and another seriously injured at his rural property on Tuesday.

A victim of a 'personal vendetta'
Mr Freeman last year launched a Supreme Court challenge after his drivers licence was cancelled and he was disqualified from driving for two years after being convicted of speeding, refusing to submit to a drug test and using a mobile phone while driving.

Mr Freeman, who was born Desmond Filby, told the Supreme Court he and his family were the victims of "malicious prosecution" and "personal vendetta" after he was stopped for speeding outside a fish and chip shop.

According to the court, the incident sparked a heated exchange with Mr Freeman who ultimately drove off without completing a drug test while simultaneously filming the officers who pulled him up.

"I had my firearms licences cancelled and lost my club membership," Mr Freeman told the Supreme Court, which ultimately struck down the challenge.

"We endured four acts of criminal trespass and harassment on our home by police and I have been dragged through four years of court hearings."

Victoria Police declined to comment on whether Mr Freeman had his gun licence cancelled.

Court records obtained by the ABC paint the picture of a man who felt deeply wronged by police, who he previously described as "terrorist thugs" and "friggin' Nazis".

Bobby. wrote on Aug 27^th, 2025 at 11:13pm:


Victoria police know if he had his gun license cancelled why would they decline to comment on this?

Seems like they need to call in the Army.

Surely they have superior skills when it comes to finding someone in thick bush-land.

The reports are a as a skilled bushman he could travel 15 kms per day.

Looking at this map of a 30km radius, and with a metre of snow predicted in snowy region… I’m looking at the map and get a feeling he could be heading towards Beechworth. (Outlaw Ned Kelly region)

Ned Kelly escaped to the bush, reappearing at sunrise to try to rescue his brother. This time, police shot Kelly where he was most vulnerable, taking out his legs in a volley of bullets that finally brought the dramatic siege to an end. Kelly's preliminary hearing was held in the Beechworth Courthouse in August 1880.

I’m reading some reports he was living in a caravan?
It was mentioned cops were ambushed from a caravan.

And as there’s one door in a caravan … was that door facing away from the main driveway entry towards the bush land for fast getaway?
Didn’t the cops flank the place?
10 cops, surely not all from the sex offensive team?

greggerypeccary wrote on Aug 28^th, 2025 at 12:32pm:


If so, would he have done it earlier rather than later? Hence why maybe thermal imaging isn’t showing up for those helicopters?
Also, maybe suicides in a way they never find his body so it remains a long standing mystery? Much like those 3 girls went missing on Valentine’s Day 1900 and were never found at Hanging Rock.

Why is nothing being said about his wife and family the police earlier said he took as “hostages” ?

Are they all going to be dead or never found or maybe remains are found ?

Why didn’t the surviving police immediately return fire and/or run after him?
Probably because, not being stupid, they went to ground or got behind other cover until they could assess the situation, this was real life not a movie.

Also as he was able to take the murdered policemen’s weapons then the police party may have been split up and obviously he didn’t fire from a caravan and get out the door on the opposite side to the police.

According to some reports his family were not with him, and the search warrant was for weapons not sexual offences.
Media reports need to be taken as very suspect.

As for how did he move with multiple weapons,. . . .
slings

My heart cries after this story 

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-08-28/tribute-to-police-officer-neal-thompson-s...

This is a beautiful photo of the now deceased police officer with his dog. 

Sir Eoin O Fada wrote on Aug 28^th, 2025 at 3:33pm:


Well maybe not all those details in the novel but….taken from this explanation below….

Unsolved crimes

Just because there aren’t any records of the exact disappearances or murders referenced in the book, doesn’t mean there were never rumours they occurred. In fact, the book and movie drove such interest that Yvonne Rousseau wrote a book, The Murders at Hanging Rock, about possible solutions and answers.

The author of the original book, Joan Lindsay, was the subject of a biography, investigating how she came to write the book and whether it had any basis in fact. The author of that biography, Janelle McCulloch, notes that some students who attended the school the book is based on believe that the crimes did occur, and that the stories might have based on a case of two girls who went missing around 1800s.

Sophia wrote on Aug 28^th, 2025 at 4:22pm:

So, obviously, Hanging Rock has no relevance, just like your references to Sovereign Citizens that you know. If he proclaimed himself a Sovereign Citizen then he is one, there is no organization of them to which one can apply for membership.

If he said that he is a Sovereign Citizen then he is one, he certainly has a troubled mind, but that is one of the attributes of a Sovereign Citizen.

I heard on a radio news report this morning......

The Victorian [or a] Police Federation spokesperson stated that....
"THE SAFETY OF POLICE is always our highest priority."

There was little need for those, representatives of the police, to openly state that circumstance.

WHY SO ?

Well, we have all seen.....the TV reports of two Victorian police officers murdered near a small Victorian alpine town.......

It is a terrible crime.

And in the days following that 'incident'......in the MSM TV reporting....we see....that 100's of Victorian police [many serving in Victorian police 'elite' specialist 'groups', descend upon Porepunkah.

In the visual media [MSM TV reporting]......we can observe......that Victorian police [and Victorian government] have committed massive resources, in pursuit of this alleged murderer, Dezi Freeman.

On TV news reports from Porepunkah....we [Australian citizens] can all observe the dozens, and dozens, of police vehicles parked in a long line, one behind the other, on a local road.

Police resources.


.


Q.
But, what about the ONGOING violent gang crime, in the Melbourne suburbs ?



We have all seen, being reported, day after day, FOR MANY MONTHS,
the massive amounts of violent gang crime, in the Melbourne suburbs.


Q.
What about the safety of the law-abiding citizenry of Victoria,
being the Victorian Police Federations highest priority ?



And.....the Victorian Police Federation has stated that....
THE SAFETY OF POLICE is its highest priority.



I'm not criticising the police.

I'm just asking, why the lives of police.....seem to be, being afforded much more importance,
than the lives and safety of the 'ordinary' [unimportant ???] law-abiding citizenry of Victoria ?

Yadda said....
http://www.ozpolitic.com/forum/YaBB.pl?num=1750845825/54#54

Sir Eoin O Fada wrote on Aug 28^th, 2025 at 7:48pm:


Well - I'm glad I brought the subject up a while back... but my aim was to figure out what was behind this thing.... and behind quite a few other cultish ideas ...

Sir Grappler Truth Teller OAM wrote on Aug 28^th, 2025 at 10:51pm:



MY OPINION.......
I would suggest that today, in 2025, in Australia,
there are just as many violent criminals 'in the community',
as there are, behind prison walls.

That circumstance is just plain 'wrong'.

Our society should not 'be' that way.



What is the solution ?

Whatever the solution is, it seems that no one wants 'to touch it' !

A wicked generation.

Sir Eoin O Fada wrote on Aug 29^th, 2025 at 11:47am:


They knew what he was like, he had a record for being known by police.
To have 10 coppers go there to apprehend one guy….that speaks volumes in itself they knew what he was like.
I just have this feeling they thought safety in numbers and that he would have no choice but to turn himself in.
I feel also they were not prepared to encounter the resistance with a tragic outcome.
As he’s been arrested many times, thinking it’s just another time the clown is arrested.

It was a shock and surprise to the cops the seriousness so they took cover to assess the new situation at hand.

That’s my take on it, they were not really prepared and didn’t think he would’ve done what he did.

There’s always a first time for everything to change suddenly and I wish the cops took it more seriously. Body armour etc.

Victoria police say they have arrested a 42-year-old woman and a 15-year-old boy, interviewed them and released them “pending further inquiries” in the manhunt for suspected gunman Dezi Freeman in Victoria’s high country.

Apparently there are 450 cops looking for this guy -
and many of them are putting their lives in jeopardy from
the extreme weather conditions:

https://www.weatherzone.com.au/vic/north-east/mount-buller

Quote:


The wet weather, and high winds could cause hypothermia in a few hours.
That can be fatal.

Bobby. wrote on Aug 29^th, 2025 at 3:46pm:


Use the choppers and some bang-bangs to flush him into your net... channel him ... that's what the bangs are about... let him think you have a line of searchers coming from X direction and drive him into Y where your people really are.  One chance to surrender.  Bet he's cold or holed up in a cave or something.

Bobby. wrote on Aug 29^th, 2025 at 3:46pm:


As I take the dog outside for a wee in this cold night and I start to feel the bite of this coldness…. I thought those police are going to end up sick with cold/flu from all this!
I hope they are rugged up warm with thermal underwear and hot soup/food available at all times.
It’s very icy cold tonight.

Sir Grappler Truth Teller OAM wrote on Aug 29^th, 2025 at 9:13pm:

Doesn’t need a fire, and for warmth a decent blanket will do, the trick is to find a warm spot to sleep.
A wombat hole does nicely as does a hollow log, or find the nearest cow and snuggle up, but if she objects then kick her out and sleep on the ground that she has conveniently warmed up and when that spot gets cold, kick another cow.
Sheep are even better, they tend to camp together in cold weather so wriggling into a warm spot is not hard, can be a bit dirty though.

greggerypeccary wrote on Aug 30^th, 2025 at 12:10pm:


Quite probably... the cops will be searching houses.... sheds and such.. in armed teams this time.. full gear ...

Anyone caught harbouring him should get twenty-five to life... time to take the gloves off...

Gon-Mo anyone?  Very cost efficient.... as near escape proof as you can get...  Croc SupperMax...

greggerypeccary wrote on Aug 30^th, 2025 at 12:10pm:



That will form part of the investigation.

greggerypeccary wrote on Aug 30^th, 2025 at 12:10pm:


Given the weather this is the most likely scenario. Could even have been transported elsewhere.

All roads are blocked but not all tracks, stop thinking modern, on horseback he could be a hundred miles away by now.
Or if modern he’s on a mountain pushbike, virtually soundless.

Sophia wrote on Aug 30^th, 2025 at 3:30pm:

Generally speaking , No, but scent may be left on bushes etc., that the quarry brushes against, all depends on how good the dog is..

On another forum it was suggested that he is a ‘’prepper’’ , as many Sovereign Citizens are, then things become more difficult and complicated.
Preppers are big business and though generally thought of as somewhat eccentric they are usually intelligent and resourceful.
Lots on them on Wikipedia, here’s a sample,
https://preppro.com.au/?gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=22805708617&gbraid=0AAAAAq2-...

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-15042099/dezi-freeman-police-hate-list....


Now Daily Mail can reveal Freeman was at the centre of a 30-strong anti-authority network
that secretly met at his rural property for years.

Members of the group drew up a list of names and ranks of officers they branded 'police thugs'
from the nearby Myrtleford station, openly discussing how to 'name and shame' them.

Sophia wrote on Aug 26^th, 2025 at 7:17pm:


Good point; some police act badly when their authority is challenged, especially when controlling mass-protest movements.

But re Sov Cits:

https://www.ozpolitic.com/forum/YaBB.pl?num=1645944963/1200

Why regional Australia is fertile ground for sovereign citizen movement

In short:

A leading expert on extremist and ideological groups says inequality is contributing to the growth of fringe groups in rural and regional Australia.

Deakin University's associate professor Josh Roose says housing shortages and a lack of opportunities are making some people susceptible to groups offering simple solutions to complex problems.

I wouldn't consider being a policeman while the current (systemic) economic and political dysfunction are resulting in the current level of societal breakdown and hyper-partisanship.