SYDNEY: A heavily armed 56-year-old Australian man is on the run on Wednesday (Aug 27), a day after he shot and killed two police officers while wounding a third, police said.
Police hunted through the night for the man, who they identified as Dezi Freeman, described by local media as a radicalised conspiracy theorist.
Officers set up a wide cordon around the crime scene, a rural property with a house and a bus in the small town of Porepunkah in the northeast of Victoria state.
“The suspect for this horrific event is still at large,” Victoria police chief commissioner Mike Bush told a news conference.
“I can assure everyone that we are pouring every resource into this search for this person. We must find him,” he added.
“He is very dangerous. He’s killed two police officers and injured a third.”
Police said they had spoken with the man’s partner and children to ensure they were safe, and to rule out the risk of any hostage situation.
Police said they believe Freeman has multiple “powerful” firearms.
Ten police officers had gone to the property on Tuesday morning to execute a search warrant when the gunfire broke out, the police chief said.
