Search for alleged gunman Dezi Freeman continues after two police killed in Porepunkah in Victoria

The partner and children of Dezi Freeman (pictured below in 2018) have been found while the manhunt for the 56-year-old continues.

‘We can report that last night the suspect’s family, his partner and children, did attend a police station,” Senior constable Paul Hogan told ABC Radio Melbourne.

‘I know there was speculation throughout the afternoon yesterday that there could have been a hostage situation.

‘There is absolutely nothing to suggest that they were in the company of the suspect following those fatal shootings yesterday, well let’s be frank, (alleged) murders, yesterday, where two on duty police officers were shot and killed and let’s not forget that third officer that has been shot has been in hospital overnight where they remain.’

Premier Jacinta Allan has addressed the Porepunka incident in a statement, describing it was a tragic day for Victoria.

‘What has occurred in Porepunkah is shocking and utterly heartbreaking,’ she said.

‘Two Victoria Police officers have lost their lives in the service of our state. Another has been seriously injured.

‘These families are facing a kind of grief they should never have to endure. Policing comes with danger, and every day, our officers meet that danger with such enormous courage and dedication.

‘This tragedy is a painful reminder of that bravery.

‘Our government stands with Victoria Police – today, and every day they wear that uniform with pride. And we stand with the community of Porepunkah – who are now carrying the weight of this horrific day.

‘They will not carry that weight alone. Our thoughts are with the emergency services still responding to this unthinkable crime.

‘And our hearts are with the families, friends and colleagues of those who have been lost. Every support they need, we will provide.

‘Today is a tragic day for our state.

One of the slain officers was just weeks away from retirement.

The two victims have been identified as a Melbourne-based member of Victoria Police’s Public Order Response Team and a local officer stationed in Porepunkah.

A third officer survived after being shot in the leg and is now receiving treatment at The Alfred hospital in Melbourne.

2018: Neighbour wars
Freeman first came to public attention in a Nine’s A Current Affair report titled ‘Bogans from Mt Buffalo’, which documented his bitter feud with neighbours over dirt bikes, chainsaws, and noise complaints. The segment described the saga as an “all-out war.”

2020: Pulled over for traffic offences
Freeman erupted in court after being pulled over for traffic offences, launching a tirade at police. He singled out a female officer for vicious abuse and branded police ‘frigging Nazis,’ ‘Gestapo,’ and ‘terrorist thugs.’

Covid era rants
During Covid, one of Freeman’s like-minded ‘sov cit’ mates posted on social media about the ‘disaster state Victoria and the rest of Australia is in’.

Freeman responded: ‘Hell awaits those traitor maggots. There is no escape. The clock is ticking!’

He unleashed again five years ago in response to another ‘sov cit’ being pulled over by police because his registration was 17 days expired.

‘Sounds like they broke many laws in putting a DVO on you,’ he replied.

‘It is not valid, there is no DVO. Drive your car, ignore their bulls*** and call them out on every law they have broken.

‘Don’t let them hear any case against you until their crimes have been prosecuted. Arrest any criminal who breaks any laws in the court.

‘Get the hell out of the corrupt magistrate’s courts and either go higher or shut down the case completely!’

2021: Clash at Myrtleford Court
Alongside fellow sovereign citizen Jim Rech, Freeman tried to lay private charges of treason and fraud against then-Victorian Premier Dan Andrews. The case was dismissed.

Outside court, Channel 7 cameras filmed Freeman being tackled to the ground by sheriffs as he raged against ‘terrorist criminal filth.’ He and supporters later claimed he had been ‘king hit’ and ‘frog-marched’ through town in an act of ‘public humiliation.’ His wife Mali was also said to have been injured trying to intervene.

Daily Mail can reveal suspected gunman Dezi Freeman’s feud with police dates back years.

In 2020, he was convicted in the Wangaratta Magistrates’ Court of speeding, refusing to provide an oral fluid sample and using a mobile phone while driving.

His licence was cancelled for two years, though he appealed all the way to the Supreme Court, which dismissed his application in November last year.

During those hearings, Freeman launched into lengthy rants, claiming laws were unenforceable and insisting he was acting in self-defence. He accused officers of being ‘frigging Nazis,’ ‘Gestapo’ and ‘terrorist thugs’.

Court documents reveal the clash began when police believed he was speeding through Porepunkah. He pulled into a fish and chip shop where a heated exchange followed. Freeman reluctantly took a breath test but refused the drug swab, filming officers on his phone as he continued to abuse them.

In his evidence, Freeman said: ‘I state under oath, that I was acting in self-defence of myself … and in self-defence of my children … I believe I was preventing an unlawful deprivation of liberty.’

He added: ‘I had to, like, get myself and my kids out of there and hope I wasn’t gonna get chased by [the informant] or shot at or whatever else unknown.’

He compared seeing police to ‘an Auschwitz survivor seeing a Nazi soldier’ and claimed: ‘What’s worse than a swastika is the inverted pentagram, the Satanic symbol that they wear and they behave like it as well.’

Freeman ended by alleging he was the victim of ‘a lifetime of bullying and predatorial behaviour by police.’

Yesterday’s suspected gunman, Dezi Freeman, accused of killing two police officer, has described himself as a sovereign citizen.

In Australia, a sovereign citizen is someone who rejects the authority of the government, its laws, and institutions, claiming they are ‘sovereign’ and not bound by the country’s legal system.

They often believe they can opt out of obligations such as paying taxes, registering vehicles, or following police directions.

Some go further, filing pseudo-legal documents in court or using phrases like ‘I do not consent’ or ‘I stand under common law’ in an attempt to avoid legal consequences.

The movement began in the United States but has spread to Australia, largely through online communities, and occasionally surfaces in confrontations with authorities.

Police report that many adherents refuse to provide licences or acknowledge police authority during routine traffic stops.

Courts consistently dismiss these arguments as baseless, but that hasn’t stopped people from trying.

While many are more disruptive than dangerous, the ideology carries real risks. Its darkest moment came in Queensland in 2022, when two police officers were murdered in the Wieambilla shooting, an attack carried out by Australians radicalised by sovereign citizen beliefs.

It now appears yesterday’s deadly attack may be disturbingly similar.

A heavily armed man remains on the run in dense bushland after killing two police officers in a ‘cold-blooded’ shooting ambush.

The rural Victorian town of Porepunkah, about 300km northeast of Melbourne, has spent the night in lockdown as police threw every available resource at tracking down the fugitive who killed two of their own and seriously injured a third.

Ten officers were met with gunfire as they attended a property on Rayner Track in Porepunkah on Tuesday morning to execute a search warrant.

A 59-year-old detective and a 35-year-old senior constable were shot dead while another detective was seriously injured and underwent surgery.

‘They were met by the offender, and they were murdered in cold blood,’ Victoria Police Chief Commissioner Mike Bush told reporters.

The man, named as 56-year-old Dezi Freeman, is described as heavily armed and dangerous with several lethal weapons.

Police have dedicated mass ground and air resources to locate him.

‘The public should remain inside. He is obviously a very dangerous person, and he needs to be caught, and that’s why we’ve committed every resource to do that,’ Mr Bush said.

But late on Tuesday night, mourning community residents had come by the Wangaratta Police Station to lay flowers for the fallen officers.

Mr Bush said the man was known to police and a risk assessment had been conducted before officers executed the search warrant.

The suspect’s partner and children attended a police station on Tuesday evening, police said in a statement.

‘There is nothing to suggest they were ever in the company of the suspect’ after the shooting, police said.