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The alleged gunman who fatally shot two police officers in Porepunkah on Tuesday has been identified as Dezi Freeman, a 56-year-old conspiracy theorist who has repeatedly espoused hatred for police and authorities.
Freeman, a self-proclaimed “sovereign citizen”, remains on the run from police with his wife, Mali, and at least one other family member.
Freeman allegedly shot two officers dead and seriously wounded another after a shooting at a rural property in the small town of Porepunkah, about 300 kilometres north-east of Melbourne and seven kilometres from Bright.
Freeman made headlines in 2021 when he attempted to privately prosecute then-premier Daniel Andrews on treason and fraud charges.
Freeman was arrested outside the Myrtleford Court before the December 2021 hearing, where he described the officers as “scumbags” and “criminal filth” who were “obsessed with power”. On another occasion, in 2020, he called an officer who pulled him over for speeding a “terrorist” and “corrupt scum”.
In a statement issued late on Tuesday afternoon, Victoria Police said 10 police had attended the property on Rayner Track, which runs south off Mount Buffalo Road, shortly after 10.30am on Tuesday when the shooting occurred. A call for urgent help at the property was made at 10.55am. No other officers were physically injured, but they remain at the property along with members of the special operations group and critical incident response team.
Three police sources, not authorised to speak on behalf of the force, told this masthead that police had attended the property to execute a warrant over historical sex abuse allegations when Freeman allegedly shot the two officers dead in an ambush and wounded the other.