SYDNEY (Reuters) -A police manhunt in Australia’s rugged alpine bushland entered a second day on Wednesday after a “heavily armed” gunman allegedly shot dead two officers and injured another as they served a warrant at his rural property in the state of Victoria.
Victoria police said the suspected gunman, identified as 56-year-old Dezi Freeman, was a local man with expert knowledge of bushcraft and in possession of multiple powerful firearms.
“I can confirm that the suspect for this horrific event is still at large,” Victoria Police Chief Commissioner Mike Bush said at a news conference on Wednesday.
“The hunt will continue until we find him.”
On Tuesday, a team of 10 police officers, including members of the sexual offences and child investigation team, arrived at Freeman’s property in Porepunkah, about 300 km (186 miles) northeast of the city of Melbourne, to execute a search warrant.
Freeman, also known as “Filby”, is alleged to have fired on the group, killing a 59-year-old detective and a 35-year-old senior constable and seriously injuring a detective before fleeing on foot into dense bushland, police said.
Police said Freeman’s partner and children had been located safely overnight amid speculation they had been taken hostage.
Porepunkah is home to around 1,000 residents and is located at the base of Australia’s alpine ranges.
Bush said that winter weather in the region made search conditions “tough going” for police and that Freeman “will know the area better than us”.
“He understands bushcraft well, which provides a challenge for us,” Bush said, adding Freeman was “heavily armed” with multiple firearms and urging the local community to stay indoors.
Local media outlets reported that police believed Freeman was a “sovereign citizen” who believes the government is illegitimate.
Court documents show Freedman campaigned against COVID-19 lockdowns and attempted to prosecute then Victorian state premier Dan Andrews for treason and fraud in 2021.
(Reporting by Christine Chen in Sydney; Editing by Michael Perry)
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