Porepunkah police shooting live updates: Victoria police ‘throwing everything’ at manhunt for suspect as search enters day three – latest news

Key events

Show key events only

Please turn on JavaScript to use this feature

Helicopters return to land at Porepunkah

A police helicopter has just landed back at the operation command centre, which is located in a winery outside Porepunkah.

It was followed by an ambulance helicopter which landed just minutes later.

A group of camouflaged officers, believed to be from both Victoria police and the AFP have been standing outside the main building for the last 30 minutes. They have at least one sniffer dog with them.

It’s an unusual scene – the rows of dormant vines punctuated by police vehicles and officers.

Police are not publicly announcing their search locations but the Mount Buffalo national park, which the winery overlooks, is currently closed to visitors.

On the park’s website, it says:

Mount Buffalo national park is closed to the public due to the ongoing Victoria Police incident at Porepunkah.

The park will reopen once the incident is resolved. We ask all visitors planning to visit the park to follow Victoria Police advice and avoid the area.

Thanks for sticking with us through the morning. Caitlin Cassidy is taking over the blog from here.

Head of police federation says spread of sovereign citizen ideology a growing challenge for policing

Scott Weber, the head of the Police Federation of Australia, spoke to ABC News earlier and said he was struggling to understand the “horrific” murder of two officers earlier this week.

He said:

We cannot believe that we have had two police officers murdered yet again. It just brings home the nature of policing where we put on the uniform and go out there to keep the community safe, and sometimes we don’t go home.

Weber described a surge in so-called sovereign citizens since the pandemic, adding that the spread of the ideology has made policing more difficult:

Police are there to there to keep society safe and deal with all issues and that’s not only in enforcement, but also making sure people are safe. With these sovereign citizens, we find it extremely difficult because they don’t listen to a police officer’s words, their authority, and don’t obey instructions as well …

If you disagree with the rules, there’s a system to go through. It’s called the courts. Again, what we want is for people to, you know, respect the rule of law and when they have interactions with police officers, listen to their instructions and obey.

Labor’s Dan Repacholi and s senator Bridget McKenzie call for faster implementation of national firearm registry

There are growing calls from within parliament for the government to accelerate the implementation of a national firearm registry.

On the Today show earlier, Labor MP – and former Olympic shooter – Dan Repacholi and s senator – and shooting enthusiast – Bridget McKenzie were on a joint ticket on accelerating a national register.

State, territory and federal governments agreed to establish a national firearms registry following a national cabinet meeting in December 2023, but it’s not due to take effect until 2028.

Repacholi said he knows the issue “intimately”, and that the work is happening to get the registry established.

We need to make sure that we know where our firearms are in this country … We’ve got to get the states and territories to all work together because they’re the ones that ultimately look after firearms registrations for their states.

McKenzie said a registry is needed but it must be secure.

When Dan, as an Olympian and a Commonwealth Games shooting athlete, goes to compete in different states, it’s a problem. If we had Albury police head down to Porepunkah, being from NSW, they might not have been able to appreciate that this guy had firearms. So we do need a national firearms register.

We don’t need law-abiding firearm owners like Dan and I’s personal details leaked like we’ve seen from some states, because then organised crime can come and get our firearms. So we need it to be secure.

Inside the ‘sovereign citizen’ movement

According to Dezi Freeman’s online footprint, he has displayed a lot of behaviour that connects him with the so-called “sovereign citizen” movement.

Our reporter, Ariel Bogle, wrote a book – Conspiracy Nation – about the growth of “pseudolaw” beliefs and how they have spread in Australia so she is well placed to shed light on the movement and what motivates its adherents.

A legal expert at UNSW tells her:

The ideology has this narrative that the law was once good and just and looked after people and protected our individual rights. But at some point it was corrupted and some evil tyrannical system has taken over.

Read her fascinating piece here:

Police ask residents in Porepunkah area to stay indoors if they can

Police have sent another text message to everyone in the area, asking them to stay indoors and not to approach the gunman if they come across him.

It reads:

Message from Victoria Police. Specialist police continue to search for Desmond Freeman (Filby) who is armed and dangerous. Multiple police units remain in the general area of Porepunkah.

If you see Desmond, call 000 immediately and do not approach him. Restrict non-essential travel and remain indoors with buildings and vehicles locked where possible. Roadblocks may be in place.

Conditions in Porepunkah today are cold and rainy, with snow on the horizon in alpine zones

There’s been a lot of chatter this morning about how the poor weather will impact the search.

While the Alpine region saw snowfall overnight, the mountains are hidden from the centre of Porepunkah by a blanket of thick low cloud.

Normally, Mt Buffalo and the dense bushland at its base are visible from the winery that has become the operation centre, but this morning it has been completely covered.

One resident commented that the thick snowfall would be great if you wanted to ski today, but “not for those out there searching”.

It’s cold and wet – residents and journalists who are out are wrapped up in puffers, while police are patrolling in rain jackets.

The Bureau of Meteorology is recording a high of 9C in the town today, with rain throughout the day. On Thursday, more snow is forecast to fall above 900 metres.

Porepunkah returns to a bit of normality as manhunt continues

While police continue their search for Dezi Freeman, residents of Porepunkah have started to return to normal life after spending yesterday in lockdown. Porepunkah primary school reopened, with a stream of parents dropping off their children.

There was a small police presence at the school and several TV crews as kids filed in for the day.

Local cafes are also starting to open up, with one resident saying:

We’ve got to pay rent. People have got to eat, have a warm place to go. We made sure our staff were comfortable.

While locals grabbed their coffees, they caught up on personal news – a new baby, a trip away – but the conversations returned to the search.

One resident said he suspected Freeman could be over Mount Buffalo by now:

If you’re fit, you can get up there in a few hours. He’s gone.

Victoria police minister says Freeman will be ‘held accountable’

Carbines said the officers killed earlier this week had been “shot down in cold blood doing their job” and Freeman would be “held accountable”. He added the police and their families are “hurting”:

People who’ve served previously understand and feel these matters acutely. But when you go online … or you go past police stations, you see Victorians are laying floral tributes, they’re donating to Police Legacy to support families, they’re visiting the police memorial, and people are doing what they can to demonstrate their support and their appreciation for their police.

Police commissioner has not asked for extra financial support, minister says

Anthony Carbines said earlier the police commissioner, Mike Bush, hasn’t asked for any additional financial support and noted interstate police have provided “a lot of technical and specialised” assistance.

Asked by host Raf Epstein if police had requested support of the special operations group before executing a search warrant at Freeman’s property in Porepunkah on Tuesday, Carbines said:

They do risk assessments when they issue warrants, and that’s been determined. Of course, we’ve got two things happening right now. One is an active police operation to arrest and bring into custody an armed offender. And we’ve also got a crime scene where police have lost their lives and others have been seriously injured.

And so those two elements are being investigated now, and I won’t speak … on how we’ve got ourselves to this point. We’ll let the investigations go where the evidence takes them.

Victoria police minister says search for Freeman will have ‘anything’ it needs

Victoria’s police minister, Anthony Carbines, was on ABC Radio Melbourne earlier to provide an update on the search for Dezi Freeman.

He said police are “throwing everything” at finding the “dangerous, armed offender at large”. Carbines added:

We’ve been very clear to the chief – anything he needs, he’ll have. He’s also been clear to us that they are drawing on every resource they have. They also had great support and offers of assistance from interstate police services, and I know the chief’s looking to leverage that where appropriate.

That’s just everyone coming together to throw everything at supporting our police service at this time.

Police return to property at centre of crime scene

One resident of the property where Dezi Freeman lived was being blocked from entering it this morning.

He said he could mot say any more and did not own the property, but that he had tried to get in to get his belongings and had been blocked by police.

Earlier the area up to the property was clear, but it is now being patrolled by police.