Updated ,first published
Dezi Freeman has been shot dead by armed police on Monday morning at a rural property near Porepunkah after more than six months on the run.
Police were tipped off that he was believed to be hiding in a container on a property, according to unconfirmed reports.
Freeman was shot dead about 8.30 am, three police sources have confirmed to this masthead.
In a brief statement on Monday morning, police confirmed a man had been fatally shot by police at a rural property in north-east Victoria as part of the operation to locate Freeman.
The statement did not directly name Freeman.
“No police officers were injured during the incident,” the statement read.
“The state coroner will attend the scene and the investigation will be oversighted by Professional Standards Command, as per standard process for a police shooting.”
Freeman was last seen in the Mount Buffalo are after the shooting deaths of Senior Constable Vadim de Waart-Hottart, 35, and Detective Leading Senior Constable Neal Thompson, 59, at a rural property in Porepunkah on August 26, 2025.
Specialist police units conducted a number of unsuccessful searches, including with cadaver dogs, in the months since Freeman’s disappearance but were unable to locate him.
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