A heavily armed man remains on the run in dense bushland after killing two police officers in a "cold-blooded" shooting ambush.
The rural Victorian town of Porepunkah, about 300km northeast of Melbourne, has spent the night in lockdown as police threw every available resource at tracking down the fugitive who killed two of their own and seriously injured a third.
Ten officers were met with gunfire as they attended a property on Rayner Track in Porepunkah on Tuesday morning to execute a search warrant.
A 59-year-old detective and a 35-year-old senior constable were shot dead while another detective was seriously injured and underwent surgery.
"They were met by the offender, and they were murdered in cold blood," Victoria Police Chief Commissioner Mike Bush told reporters.
The man, named in media reports as 56-year-old Dezi Freeman, is described as heavily armed and dangerous with several lethal weapons.
Police have dedicated mass ground and air resources to locate him.
"The public should remain inside. He is obviously a very dangerous person, and he needs to be caught, and that's why we've committed every resource to do that," Mr Bush said.
But late on Tuesday night, mourning community residents had come by the Wangaratta Police Station to lay flowers for the fallen officers.
Mr Bush said the man was known to police and a risk assessment had been conducted before officers executed the search warrant.
The suspect's partner and children attended a police station on Tuesday evening, police said in a statement.
"There is nothing to suggest they were ever in the company of the suspect" after the shooting, police said.
Premier Jacinta Allan said Victorians will unite and throw their arms around Victoria Police and the community of Porepunkah.
"In our toughest of times, we reach out and provide support, we provide love, we provide care and make it absolutely clear that this was a hideous criminal act and this offender will be dealt with," she said.
The alleged perpetrator is believed to be a sovereign citizen, police sources not authorised to comment on the situation earlier told AAP.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said Australia's security intelligence had warned about "far-right extremism" permeating other nations.
"The fact that 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 program.
He also drew similarities between the alleged incident to two Queensland officers and a neighbour who were shot dead by so-called sovereign citizens in an ambush in the town of Wieambilla in 2022 after they were called to a welfare check.
Local federal MP Helen Haines said the tragedy had shaken not only Porepunkah, but communities across the country.
Police Association of Victoria secretary Wayne Gatt said his members had paid the "ultimate price" that is often in the back of officers' minds as they keep the community safe.
The deaths mark the state's biggest loss of police life since the 2020 Eastern Freeway crash when four officers died after a truck veered into them as they were impounding a vehicle.
