Porepunkah shooting: Weapons stolen from fatally wounded officers, alleged offender a ‘sovereign citizen’

Sovereign citizen Dezi Freeman is the target of a major manhunt in Victoria’s alpine region after allegedly executing two policemen and wounding a third in an ambush attack at a remote farm near Porepunkah, about 320 kilometres from Melbourne.

Freeman, who once described police as terrorist thugs and Nazis when he was arrested in 2020 for minor traffic offences, fled into dense bushland immediately after the unprovoked attack on Tuesday morning.

Police have been unable to locate his wife and two of his three children, amid fears they may have joined up with Freeman. One of Freeman’s sons was with police on Tuesday afternoon, but has not been charged.

The 56-year-old was armed with a home-made shotgun, a rifle and at least one handgun stolen from a slain officer, according to police sources not authorised to speak publicly.

Read more: Sydney Morning Herald (Australia)