A routine warrant service at a rural property in Victoria on Aug. 26 ended in the fatal shooting of two police officers and a weeks-long manhunt after the suspect fled into rugged bushland while his family slipped away to a nearby hiding place, Daily Mail footage and reporting show.
Ten officers arrived at a converted bus on a Porepunkah property shortly before 10 a.m. to serve a historic sexual-assault-related search warrant, police have said. Body-camera video released to media shows the occupant, identified by police as Dezi Freeman, refusing to unlock the door and disputing the warrant, repeatedly telling officers the names and address were incorrect and asserting the warrant was fake.
The footage shows officers taking turns attempting forced entry. Police say they gained access to the bus through a window at about 10:37 a.m., and the situation immediately escalated. Two shots were fired in quick succession, killing Detective Senior Constable Neal Thompson and Senior Constable Vadim de Waart-Hottart at point-blank range, authorities and the footage indicate. Officers who were present took cover as the scene became chaotic.
After the initial shooting, police say Freeman armed himself with a weapon taken from one of the fallen officers and fled the scene on foot with his wife, a teenage son and a two-year-old child. An additional officer was shot in the leg during the confrontation and sheltered beneath the bus for nearly an hour before being able to move, according to reporting.
Freeman is so far wanted in relation to the deaths of the two officers. It has not been publicly confirmed whether the third officer was shot by Freeman or struck in crossfire during the exchange.
Hours after the shooting, police learned the suspect's family was no longer with him when his wife, Mali, and the children contacted officers and said they had fled to a hidden location. The Daily Mail reported that an SOS call to Freeman's eldest son, Koah, resulted in him driving to a neighbouring property to help his mother and younger siblings leave the scene. By about 11:40 a.m., Mali and the children were in hiding; police contacted Ms. Freeman directly near midday and were informed she was separated from her husband. Police officials said that early searches had operated under the assumption that two adults and two children had fled together, a factor that investigators later concluded complicated and potentially misdirected parts of the initial search.
Over the following days, an extensive manhunt unfolded with up to 450 police officers and members of the Australian Defence Force deployed across Victoria's high country, roadblocks established on highways, helicopters conducting aerial searches and tactical units executing raids on properties associated with the suspect. Authorities also deployed drones and watercraft to search portions of the Buckland River, which runs alongside Freeman's property and was identified by reporters as a possible escape route after Daily Mail journalists located footage of Freeman paddling the same stretch of water.
Questions have been raised in media reporting about whether early search efforts were concentrated in the high country when the property sits within walking distance of the New South Wales border. Police described the terrain as rugged and expansive, and officials said the suspect was capable of moving through remote bushland.
Investigators said Freeman at times insisted on the presence of a disability liaison officer and continued to challenge the identity and validity of the warrant while officers worked to make entry. Authorities have acknowledged public scrutiny surrounding how Freeman obtained a firearm from a fallen officer amid several other officers on scene, and investigations into the sequence of events, use and control of weapons and tactical decisions at the scene are ongoing.
Police have not released a comprehensive public timeline of every action during the incident, citing the ongoing nature of the investigation. Court records and police statements identify the initial warrant as connected to historic sexual-assault allegations involving a minor.
The discovery that the suspect's family had separated from him shifted the operational picture for search teams, officials said, and remains a key detail in reconstructing the movements of those involved immediately after the shooting. Authorities have encouraged members of the public with any information about the suspect's movements or whereabouts in the days following the shooting to come forward.
Formal charges and procedural updates, including any arrests or court appearances, have not been announced by Victoria Police at the time of publication. The investigation into the killings continues, and police have appealed for witnesses and any additional video or photographic evidence from the area around Porepunkah on Aug. 26 to assist detectives.
The incident has prompted renewed scrutiny of policing tactics during warrant executions in remote locations, and of how searches and containment are coordinated when family members may separate from a suspect. Police and government officials have said they will provide additional information as inquiries progress, and they urged the public to rely on official updates from Victoria Police as investigators work to establish a full factual record.