Porepunkah police shootings
2025 killing of police officers
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Why this is trending
Interest in “Porepunkah police shootings” spiked on Wikipedia on 2026-06-03.
Categorised under Geography & Places, this article fits a familiar pattern. wt.cat.geography.2
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Key Takeaways
- On the morning of 26 August 2025, police officers Neal Thompson and Vadim De Waart-Hottart were killed in a shooting at a property near the regional Victorian town of Porepunkah, Australia, while attempting to execute a warrant.
- The alleged shooter, Dezi Bird Freeman, a self-proclaimed sovereign citizen known to police, fled into the dense bushland of Mount Buffalo National Park.
- The number of officers involved in the manhunt was unprecedented in Australian history, and there was a A$1 million reward for information leading to his arrest, which is the largest reward ever offered in Victorian history.
- He had been on the run for 216 days.
- The country has strict laws restricting gun access since 1996, when 35 people were killed in the Port Arthur massacre.
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Source summary
WikipediaOn the morning of 26 August 2025, police officers Neal Thompson and Vadim De Waart-Hottart were killed in a shooting at a property near the regional Victorian town of Porepunkah, Australia, while attempting to execute a warrant. A third officer was injured. The alleged shooter, Dezi Bird Freeman, a self-proclaimed sovereign citizen known to police, fled into the dense bushland of Mount Buffalo National Park.
A manhunt involving hundreds of police officers ensued, with Victoria Police supported by interstate police forces, the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation and the Australian Defence Force. The number of officers involved in the manhunt was unprecedented in Australian history, and there was a A$1 million reward for information leading to his arrest, which is the largest reward ever offered in Victorian history. On the morning of 30 March 2026, Freeman was shot dead by police officers in Thologolong near Walwa. He had been on the run for 216 days.
Deaths from gun violence, especially among police, are rare in Australia. The country has strict laws restricting gun access since 1996, when 35 people were killed in the Port Arthur massacre.
Content sourced from Wikipedia under CC BY-SA 4.0
