The partner and children of Dezi Freeman, accused of killing two police officers in rural Porepunkah in Victoria, Australia, were interviewed by detectives on Tuesday, authorities confirmed.
Mr Freeman, 56, was allegedly involved in a shooting at a property where police officers were executing a search warrant, reportedly for historical sex offences against him.
The shooting killed a 59-year-old detective and a 35-year-old senior constable and wounded a third officer, who was reportedly recovering after undergoing surgery at Melbourne’s Alfred Hospital.
Mr Freeman was “still at large”. He vanished into dense bushland, prompting police to impose a no-fly zone over Porepunkah as the search intensified.
Authorities urged residents to stay inside and limit travel for their safety.
Victoria police chief commissioner Mike Bush said Mr Freeman was believed to be heavily armed and considered “very dangerous”.
Mr Bush said on Wednesday morning that an interstate flight had not been ruled out. But NSW police said there was currently no indication he had crossed the border north. Porepunkah is just an hour’s drive from the NSW border.
“He will know that area better than us so that is why we are putting in every expert, supported by local knowledge,” he said, referring to the suspect. “Our understanding is that he understands bushcraft well which provides a challenge to us.”
Helicopters, drones and heavily armed tactical police flooded the area after the shooting to search for Mr Freeman.
To protect the operation, the Australian Transport Safety Bureau imposed a no-fly zone until 11.30pm on Friday.
“Please be advised this includes all aircraft, including drones,” the Victoria police said in a statement. “Given the suspect in this matter is heavily armed, this condition has been granted due to the risk to aircraft and drones, as well as potential implications associated with the suspect tracking police movements based off media coverage.”
The shooting has left Porepunkah rattled. The rural town of just over 1,000 people is 300km northeast of Melbourne.
“We’ll band together, we are a resilient bunch, through fires, floods, and lots of other unfortunate farming accidents or tragedies that have occurred in the community,” Porepunkah resident Linda told the ABC. “It’s quite a bit of a shock, but we all seem to band together and look after each other.”
Victoria’s State Emergency Service said its volunteers had been helping police since Tuesday but “they’re not currently assisting on scene”.
