A massive manhunt entered its fourth day Friday as Australian authorities continue searching for a 56-year-old man accused of killing two police officers and wounding a third during an ambush at a rural property in Victoria state on Tuesday, August 26, 2025.
Victoria Police identified the suspect as Dezi Freeman, also known as Desmond Filby, who allegedly opened fire when 10 officers arrived at his property in Porepunkah at approximately 10:30 a.m. local time to execute a search warrant related to sexual offenses and child abuse investigations.
The shooting claimed the lives of Detective Leading Senior Constable Neal Thompson, 59, and Senior Constable Vadim De Waart, 35. A third detective was shot in the lower body but survived after undergoing surgery and remained in stable condition at Alfred Hospital in Melbourne as of Thursday morning.
Victoria Police Chief Commissioner Mike Bush described the attack during a news conference, stating the officers “were murdered in cold blood.” Bush indicated that Freeman fled alone on foot into the surrounding dense bushland immediately after the shooting, armed with multiple firearms including long arms.
Thompson, who joined the Victoria Police force in 1987, was nearing retirement and had worked with major fraud and crime squads before transferring to Wangaratta in 2007. De Waart, who began his policing career in late 2018, had recently arrived in Wangaratta and previously worked at St Kilda police station before joining the public order response team in April 2023.
The search operation has deployed hundreds of specialist officers, helicopters, ground teams, and at least one armored vehicle across the mountainous terrain surrounding Porepunkah, a town of approximately 1,000 residents located 200 miles northeast of Melbourne in the Australian Alps. The challenging landscape, described by locals as finding a needle in a haystack, features steep inclines, thick vegetation, and poor weather conditions that have complicated search efforts.
Freeman has been described by authorities as heavily armed, dangerous, and possessing extensive bushcraft skills that give him advantages in the wilderness terrain. Police believe he remains in the area despite no confirmed sightings since Tuesday, though Bush acknowledged the possibility that Freeman could have crossed into New South Wales, given Porepunkah’s proximity to the state border.
Australian media reports indicate Freeman previously identified himself as a sovereign citizen, a movement whose adherents falsely believe they are not subject to government laws and authority. Court documents from 2024 reveal Freeman’s history of hostile encounters with law enforcement, including referring to police officers as Nazis and terrorist thugs during legal proceedings related to his suspended driver’s license.
In 2021, Freeman gained attention for attempting to privately prosecute then-Victoria Premier Daniel Andrews for treason and fraud, leading to his arrest while protesting outside court. A 2021 video from Wangaratta Magistrate’s Court showed Freeman unsuccessfully attempting to arrest a magistrate and police officers while representing himself in a hearing.
Police initially expressed concern about the whereabouts of Freeman’s partner and two children, but Bush later confirmed the family was safe after they visited a police station Tuesday night. On Thursday evening, police arrested a 42-year-old woman and a 15-year-old boy following raids at a Porepunkah property, with Bush confirming Friday that the woman was Freeman’s wife. Both individuals were interviewed and released pending further inquiries.
The incident prompted lockdowns of public buildings, the local airfield, and Porepunkah Primary School, which houses just over 100 students. Authorities have urged residents to remain indoors and avoid traveling to the area until Freeman is apprehended.
Australian Federal Police confirmed Thursday they are providing tactical response team assistance to Victoria Police at their request. New South Wales police have also offered support for the operation, while Victorian Premier Jacinta Allan indicated substantial resources were being deployed across North East Victoria.
The shooting marks a rare occurrence of police fatalities in Australia, where the last officer killed by gunshot in the line of duty was in South Australia in 2023. The incident draws comparisons to a 2022 attack in Queensland’s Wieambilla region, where Christian extremists killed two police officers before being shot dead by authorities following a six-hour siege.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese noted similarities between the current incident and the 2022 Queensland attack, emphasizing the reality of threats posed by extremist beliefs. The shooting has reignited discussions about how authorities handle individuals with anti-government ideologies.
Gun violence remains relatively uncommon in Australia following the implementation of strict firearms regulations after the 1996 Port Arthur massacre, which killed 35 people and prompted comprehensive gun control legislation including mandatory buyback programs that removed nearly 700,000 firearms from circulation.
