SYDNEY (Reuters) -Australian police battled severe alpine weather on Saturday on the fifth day of a search for a gunman who escaped into dense bush after allegedly shooting dead two officers and injuring another at a rural property in Victoria state.
Hundreds of officers were in the field searching for 56-year-old Dezi Freeman, previously known as Desmond Filby, who is believed to have expert bushcraft skills and multiple powerful firearms, a police spokesperson said.
The search area includes the town of Porepunkah, about 300 km (186 miles) northeast of Melbourne, where Freeman is alleged to have fired on police on Tuesday, before fleeing on foot into the bush.
Bureau of Meteorologist senior forecaster Jonathan How said a severe weather warning was current for the region, which was experiencing challenging conditions of cold, wind and snow.
A very cold night was on the way for the area, including possible black ice on roads, How said. A minimum temperature of 0 degrees Celsius (32 degrees Fahrenheit) was forecast on Sunday for Porepunkah, according to the weather bureau.
Victorian Premier Jacinta Allan visited nearby Wangaratta police station on Friday to pay tribute to the two slain officers, Detective Leading Senior Constable Neal Thompson, 59, and Senior Constable Vadim De Waart, 35, amid what she said was the “huge operation” by authorities to catch Freeman.
“Their loss won’t be forgotten. With honour they served,” Allan said of the officers on social media platform X.
Freeman is alleged to have fired on a team of 10 police officers, including members of the sexual offences and child investigation team, when they arrived at his Porepunkah property to execute a search warrant.
Australian media have reported that police believe Freeman is a “sovereign citizen” who regards the government is illegitimate.
(Reporting by Sam McKeith in Sydney; Editing by Stephen Coates)
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