Porepunkah police shootings

On the morning of 26 August 2025, two police officers, Neal Thompson and Vadim De Waart-Hottart, were shot and killed. This happened at a farm near the small town of Porepunkah in Victoria, Australia. The officers were there to serve a legal warrant. A third officer was hurt. The man police think did the shooting is Dezi Bird Freeman. He is a "sovereign citizen" (someone who believes laws do not apply to them) and was already known to police. He ran away into the thick woods of Mount Buffalo National Park.

A huge manhunt (search for a criminal) began. Hundreds of police officers from Victoria and other states joined the search. The Australian Security Intelligence Organisation and the Australian Defence Force (the military) also helped. Freeman has been missing for  days. No one has seen him since the shootings.

This is the largest police search in Australian history. There is a  reward for anyone who gives information that leads to his arrest. This is the biggest reward ever offered in the state of Victoria.

 Background 
It is very rare for people to die from guns in Australia, especially police officers. The country has very strict gun laws. These laws started in 1996 after 35 people were killed in the Port Arthur massacre.

 Dezi Freeman 
Desmond Christopher Filby was born in 1968 or 1969. He went to school in a suburb of Melbourne called Glen Waverley. In 1977, his family moved to Wodonga. By 2003, he changed his name to Dezi Bird Freeman. People in the sovereign citizen movement often choose the name "Freeman." Freeman's job was a photographer. He was very good at bushcraft (surviving in the wild). He had been hiking in Mount Buffalo National Park since he was a teenager. His son said the park was like his "second home."

Since 2019, Freeman posted angry messages on social media about the police. He wrote that police officers should be "exterminated." In 2024, he went to court because his driver's license was taken away. He called the police "Nazis" and "thugs." He was in court many times for different charges and was often very rude to judges.  His nephew said that Freeman always seemed to have a "hidden anger." In 2020, his gun license was cancelled.

Freeman's views became even more extreme during the COVID-19 pandemic. He was against vaccines and lockdowns, and he refused to wear a mask. He believed the government had no power over him. In 2021, he tried to sue the Premier of Victoria for treason, but the court threw the case out. He also appeared on the TV show A Current Affair in 2018 because of a fight with his neighbors. By 2025, he was telling people the end of the world was coming.

In August 2025, Freeman lived with his wife and two children at "Four Gully Farm" near Porepunkah. This farm was about  away from Melbourne. Several people lived on the property. Some of them shared Freeman's anti-government views. Freeman and his family lived in a bus and some shipping containers.

 Shootings 
Around 10:30 am on 26 August 2025, ten police officers went to the farm. They were there to check the property because of a warrant related to guns and historical child abuse charges. The police thought it was safe enough to go without a special SWAT team (SOG).

Freeman was inside his bus with his wife and child. He started yelling at the police. When Freeman would not come out, Officer Neal Thompson opened a window and climbed inside. Two shots were fired. Thompson and Officer Vadim De Waart-Hottart were killed.

A family member filmed the 27 minutes before the shooting. A third officer was shot in the leg and hid under the bus for an hour until help arrived. Freeman tried to shoot a fourth officer, but his homemade gun jammed (it did not work). Police shot back at him but missed. Freeman then stole the dead officers' handguns and ran into the bush alone.

The SOG tactical team arrived by helicopter from Melbourne before noon. People in the area were told to stay inside, and the local primary school was locked for safety.

 Manhunt 

Almost 500 officers were sent to find Freeman and keep the town safe.  All of Australia's state police forces and the federal police helped with the search. Ambulance Victoria and the State Emergency Service (SES) were also there to help.

The search was very hard because the weather was cold, snowy, and windy. The area around Mount Buffalo has very thick bush, caves, and old mines where someone could hide. People who live there said Freeman is an expert in the bush and could survive for many weeks.

Police made a "no-fly zone" so that no airplanes or drones could fly over the search area. On 29 September, the zone was still in place. Parks Victoria also closed the national park to keep people away.

Freeman's wife became a major focus for the news media. On 28 August, police raided a property in Porepunkah and arrested her and her 15-year-old son. They were questioned by police and then let go while the investigation continued. Four days later, she spoke to the public and asked her husband to give himself up. She said she supported the police, did not share her husband's anti-government views, and was very sorry for the deaths of the officers.

On 6 September, police offered a  reward for information to help catch Freeman. This is the largest reward ever offered in Victoria for an arrest. By 29 September, the public had given the police more than 1,400 tips. Police searched parts of the national park several times after people thought they saw him. 

On 12 September, 17 days after the shooting, a huge tactical team searched for Freeman. This team included special police from every Australian state and New Zealand. It was the largest operation of its kind in Australian history, with more than 125 tactical officers. Two days later, the government told people it was safe to travel to Porepunkah again, but warned them to stay careful.

At the end of September, the police reduced the number of officers in the search to about 200. By then, they had searched over  and hundreds of homes and farms. They also searched in towns further away, like Goomalibee. Mount Buffalo National Park stayed closed to the public while police continued their work there.

People have many different ideas about what happened to Freeman. Soon after the shooting, police thought local people might be helping him hide. They set up a place in the town of Bright, Victoria where people could go to give information. Some experts believe Freeman would not surrender because of his strange "sovereign citizen" beliefs. Others think he might have killed himself or is hiding in a cave or old mine. In early October, special dogs that can find dead bodies were brought from Queensland to help search.

On 6 October, Freeman’s brother said he thought Freeman had probably died a few days after the shooting on a mountain near his home.

On 14 October, the park was partly reopened. Police asked people who used trail cameras (cameras that take pictures of animals) to check them for any photos of Freeman.

On 24 October, the park was fully reopened. Police said they had received 1,700 pieces of information from the public. They started a new group called "Taskforce Summit" to keep looking for him.

On 9 November, police fired many gunshots in the bush. They did this to listen to the echoes and compare them to what people heard on the day of the shootings. They hoped this would help them find exactly where Freeman went.

In early December, police and special dogs spent five days searching a small area of the park. They were looking for Freeman's body. They had searched this area before when they thought he was still alive.

 Victims 
Detective Leading Senior Constable Neal Thompson, who was 59, and Belgian-born Senior Constable Vadim De Waart-Hottart, who was 35, were the two officers killed.

Thompson was almost ready to retire. He had been a police officer since 1987. During his 38 years of work, he served in many different places, including Melbourne and Wangaratta. He was chosen for this job because he had spoken to Freeman before and they had a good relationship. De Waart-Hottart joined the police in 2018. He spoke many languages, including Spanish, French, and Flemish.

The detective who was shot in the leg had surgery at a hospital in Melbourne.  By 6 September, he was home and getting better.

The funerals for the officers were held in early September. More than a thousand people attended, including the Prime Minister and the Premier of Victoria.

 Reactions 
Government leaders like Anthony Albanese and Jacinta Allan said they were very sad. They praised the officers for being brave and said the "sovereign citizen" beliefs were dangerous and wrong. Across Victoria, many famous buildings were lit up in blue to honor the officers. Parliament held a moment of silence, and flags were flown at half-mast.

News reporters compared this event to other police shootings in Australia. Most people in the sovereign citizen movement did not say much about Freeman. However, one associate defended him, saying he had the right to protect his property. A man in Adelaide was arrested for carrying a sign with Freeman’s face on it during a protest.

 Porepunkah 
After the shooting, many police and news reporters came to Porepunkah. Because of the search and warnings, tourists stopped coming to the town. This was hard for local businesses, especially because it was the busy season for skiing and snow sports.

On 15 September, the government promised $2.5 million to help local businesses. Some people felt this was not enough money. Weeks later, some businesses said they still had not received any money or help.

Local people hope their town will still be known as a beautiful place to visit, and not just for this tragedy. While many people support the police, some became frustrated because there were so many police officers in the streets for such a long time.

 Notes 

 References 

 Further reading 

 Track Dezi Freeman’s radicalisation from family photographer to alleged cop killer Crikey
 Porepunkah shooting: Dezi Freeman evades police for two weeks The Australian
 How one dark day unravelled Australia’s narrative on terrorism Crikey
 Cold Blooded Delusion The Monthly
 Porepunkah Shooting Highlights Threat ‘Sovereign Citizens’ Pose to Australia The Diplomat

 Other websites 
 Victoria Police - Porepunkah shooting and search for Desmond Freeman (Filby)

Category:2025 crimes
Category:2025 in Australia
Category:Crime in Australia