Dezi Freeman: 10 officers attended alleged gunman’s home before two cops were killed
The fatal shooting of two police officers who were ambushed while executing a search warrant has drawn comparisons to a deadly rural siege.
A 59-year-old detective and a 35-year-old senior constable were killed and another detective wounded when a man shot at them on a property in Porepunkah, about 300km northeast of Melbourne.
They were among 10 officers who attended the home on Tuesday to serve the warrant.
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By continuing you agree to our Terms and Privacy Policy.Victoria Police Chief Commissioner Mike Bush confirmed the alleged perpetrator had been known to police and a risk assessment had been completed before officers attended the remote property.
“The fact that there were 10 officers attending the search warrant does talk to the gravity of the situation,” he told reporters.
The fugitive is believed to be a sovereign citizen, police sources not authorised to comment on the situation told AAP.
The incident has raised memories of the 2022 Wieambilla shootings where two constables, Matthew Arnold and Rachel McCrow, were killed by a family with links to the sovereign citizen movement while conducting a welfare check at a rural Queensland property.
Two other officers were also at the scene but managed to escape.
Mr Bush declined to comment on whether processes had changed in Victoria following the Wieambilla shootings but confirmed he had spoken on Tuesday to his Queensland counterparts.
“The people involved in that shooting are again traumatised by this event,” he said.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese drew comparisons between the two shootings as he warned about the spectre of “far-right extremism” in Australia.
“This ideology of not seeing themselves being subject to our laws and our society ... is of real concern, and ASIO have warned that this threat is very real, and that we need to be very vigilant about it,” he told ABC’s 7.30.
Police are providing support to officers involved in the tragedy and their families.
“Every officer is mourning right now, everyone knows the spectre of self-sacrifice that follows police officers on every job they attend in every shift they work,” Police Association Victoria secretary Wayne Gatt said.
“They will be supporting each other and grieving as one as they try to make sense of this tragedy.”
