The search for Dezi Freeman, the alleged gunman who killed two police officers and injured another in rural Victoria, has continued into its third day.
Freeman, 56, allegedly fired multiple shots at police officers in an ambush attack when they arrived at his remote farm near Porepunkah on Tuesday morning. While two were killed, another officer was shot in the leg. Freeman proceeded to flee into the dense bushland surrounding the property, kicking off a manhunt by police.
On Wednesday, police formally identified the two police officers as Detective Leading Senior Constable Neal Thompson, 59, and Senior Constable Vadim De Waart, 35.
According to The Age, Thompson had been with the force since 1987 and was gearing up for his retirement next month. Meanwhile, De Waart had only just arrived in the region for a secondment. He’d been with the Victorian Police for more than five years after previously working in Europe.
Both officers have been fondly remembered by colleagues and friends alike, with the Chief Commissioner Mike Bush referring to the pair as “brave and fine” members of the force.
“This devastating loss of Neal and Vadim has struck at the heart of Victoria Police, the broader policing family and the community of Porepunkah,” Commissioner Bush said.
“In the coming days, weeks and months, we will all grieve this loss and deeply miss our colleagues and friends who have paid the ultimate sacrifice in the line of duty.”
Commissioner Bush said that support has been offered to Thompson and De Waart’s families.
“We are putting every piece of support around the families of the officers that have passed in this tragic event,” he said, per the ABC.
“We need to be fully assured that they are across the events and also have every support where they are.”
In tribute to the slain officers, landmarks throughout Melbourne were lit up with blue lights on Wednesday evening.
Quite moving to see Melbourne's landmarks lit up in blue in respect for the two police officers murdered by a 'sovereign citizen'. 😢
— Peter Holland 🕊️ (@Vtone35) August 27, 2025
(pic of Flinders Street station taken from The Age web site) pic.twitter.com/3xFX2IsAgi
What we know as the manhunt enters day 3
Freeman, who was born Desmond Christopher Filby, currently remains on the run after allegedly killing Thompson and De Waart and shooting another officer in the leg. The surviving officer is currently recovering at Melbourne’s The Alfred hospital after undergoing surgery.
According to the Sydney Morning Herald, Freeman’s partner and children were interviewed by police at a local station on Tuesday night. However, the search for Freeman — who is believed to be heavily armed — is still underway.
The 56-year-old had developed a public profile for being a radicalised conspiracy theorist, known for his self-identification as a “sovereign citizen”.
According to court documents, Freeman appears to have a deep distrust of police. During an appearance in the Supreme Court of Victoria in 2024 for driving offences, Freeman referred to police as “frigging Nazis”, “Gestapo” and “terrorist thugs”.
According to locals speaking to the Sydney Morning Herald, Freeman’s behaviour became more extreme during the pandemic.
“He was anti everything to do with it,” one local said.
“He went from being just a pretty ordinary country bloke … a normal dude you’d see at the local footy club all the time to quite a strange bloke. He fell down a bit of a rabbit hole and sort of disappeared and went off the radar. But we could have never imagined this. I’d known him for years and never thought he would be capable of doing this. Everyone is just in absolute shock. It is horrifying.”
Meanwhile, another neighbour said that the police have their “work cut out for them”.
“The cops will have their work cut out for them catching him. He’s got a beautiful family, though, so my heart breaks for them,” the neighbour said.
Porepunkah remains on high alert with some areas locked down as police continue the manhunt for Freeman. Police have urged anyone who sees him or has information about his whereabouts to contact Triple Zero immediately.
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