Police have shot dead a man believed to be fugitive gunman Dezi Freeman following a three-hour stand-off in Victoria’s north-east this morning.
Freeman, 56, had been on the run since the fatal shooting of two police officers last August.
He was shot today at a property on Murray River Road in Thologolong, on the border with NSW, about 150 kilometres north-east of the site of the police shootings at Porepunkah.
Early on Monday morning police officers surrounded a building, described as a cross between a shipping container and a long caravan, where Freeman had been hiding.
A stand-off began about 5:30am before Freeman was fatally shot about 8:30am after he emerged from the shipping container, police said.
Victoria Police Chief Commissioner Mike Bush said Freeman was “given every opportunity to resolve [the situation] peacefully, but did not do so”.
“Everything I have seen, everything I have briefed upon, tell me that our officers acted appropriately,” he said at a press conference late this afternoon.
Chief Commissioner Bush said he had seen footage showing the person leaving the shipping container on the property and pointing a firearm at police.
“We tried everything possible, every tactical option that we have, to encourage the deceased to end this in a safe and peaceful manner,” he said.
“They weren’t taken.”
He said that, in video he had seen, Freeman was wearing something like a blanket over his shoulders when he emerged from the shipping container.
He said it was from this cloak that he produced a firearm and pointed it towards police.
Chief Commissioner Mike Bush said a “very formal identification process” had to be carried out before the man’s identity could be confirmed.
“The very first people to be made aware of the outcome of this operation were the families of the officers tragically killed on the 26th of August and all of the members that were involved on this day.
“Should it be confirmed that the deceased is Freeman, this brings closure to what was a tragic and terrible event.”
Aerial footage from a helicopter show the remote property at a secluded location on the banks of the Murray River.
Photos of the property show heavily armoured police vehicles in attendance, parked next to derelict vehicles and shipping containers.
Chief Commissioner Bush said police believed Freeman was alone on the property.
“The information I have at the moment is that over the last 24 hours, there has been no one else except for the deceased at the property,” he said.
He said it was quite possible the weapon found at the scene was a firearm taken from one of the slain police officers.
Earlier, Chief Commissioner Bush declined to provide detail on what led to police locating Freeman.
“The perseverance and the persistence of this investigation team exploring every other avenue that was open to them is what’s led to this,” he said.
“I’m not at liberty to share any confidential information.”
He said the shooting brought to a close one of the biggest search operations in the history of Victoria Police.
“It was a horrendous crime where two of our officers were murdered and one was seriously injured. For that reason, it was our primary investigation,” he said.
“It’s a good day,” says friend of slain officer
Freeman, a self-proclaimed “sovereign citizen”, fled into bushland at Mount Buffalo National Park after the Porepunkah shooting on August 26.
On that day, 10 officers went to his property and officers Senior Constable Thompson and Senior Constable De Waart-Hottart were shot dead.
Emergency services swarmed the regional town at the foot of Mount Buffalo, 300 kilometres north-east of Melbourne, after the shooting, but Freeman escaped into dense bushland.
The search area included steep, rocky terrain littered with caves and mineshafts.
A disability pensioner, who was born Desmond Filby, Freeman had previously tried to arrest a magistrate and was linked to an attempt to have former premier Daniel Andrews tried for treason.
Before the shooting, he left an online trail of angry tirades and anti-authority rants.
John Bird, who was close friends with Senior Constable Thompson, said he felt a sense of relief after hearing the news of Freeman’s death.
“It’s a good day,” he said.
While it wouldn’t bring back his friend, Mr Bird said “at least the person who caused it is not drawing breath anymore”.
“It’s just a relief — it doesn’t change anything much, but it is closure on that side of things,” he said.
Ashley Drummond, who lives at Mount Alfred near where Freeman was shot, said he was driving along Murray River Road when he was stopped by an unmarked police car.
“They were in front of me with their vehicle across the road and they were just sort of standing there — stopping any traffic that was going to try and go down,” Mr Drummond said.
He said it was “quite amazing” that Mr Freeman had been found so far from Porepunkah.
“Given how far away from where he originally was, yeah, it’s a strange location to be,” he said.
A Police Association Victoria spokesperson said the shooting of Freeman was “a step forward”.
Chief Commissioner Bush said police had investigated more than 2,000 leads over the course of the seven-month investigation into Freeman.
Victorian Attorney-General Sonya Kilkenny expressed support for the Porepunkah community and “of course, the families of the two police officers killed in that tragic incident almost six months ago”.
Wife had urged Freeman to surrender
Early in the search, Freeman’s wife Amalia and their son were arrested and questioned by police in relation to allegations of obstructing police.
She was released without charge as investigations continued.
Several days later, Ms Freeman issued a statement urging her husband to surrender.
Police remained mostly tight-lipped about their search operation in case Freeman was able to monitor media reports.
More than 100 properties in the region were searched as police investigated whether any associates were helping Freeman evade arrest.
In December, cadaver dogs assisted in a targeted five-day search for Freeman’s remains.
In February, police said there was a “strong possibility” Dezi Freeman was dead in Mount Buffalo National Park as another targeted search got underway.
One of the two police officers killed in the August shooting, Senior Constable Vadim De Waart-Hottart, was a member of the Public Order Response Team.
He had a passion for scuba diving and motorcycling with friends, and was fluent in English, French, Spanish and Flemish.
The 34-year-old’s parents live in Belgium, his younger brother in Switzerland, and he had extended family in Melbourne.
His fallen colleague, Detective Leading Senior Constable Neal Thompson, was a 38-year veteran of the police force who was due to retire just days later.
He planned to spend his retirement walking across South America, fishing with his mates, hunting deer and working on his King Valley home.
