SYDNEY, Aug. 26 (Xinhua) -- A major search remains ongoing for a gunman who fatally shot two police officers and injured a third in southeast Australia on Tuesday, police said.
Mike Bush, the police commissioner in the state of Victoria, said at a press conference on Tuesday night that a 59-year-old detective and 35-year-old senior constable were fatally shot while executing a warrant at a property in the small town Porepunkah, 210 km northeast of Melbourne earlier in the day.
A third officer was airlifted to hospital and was undergoing surgery for injuries not considered life-threatening, Bush said, while seven others who were also deployed to execute the warrant were not physically injured.
The shooting triggered a lockdown in Porepunkah and surrounding towns as police launched a major search operation for the gunman, who is believed to have escaped into surrounding bushland in Victoria's alpine region armed with several guns.
"The suspect for this horrific event is still at large. We believe he is armed," Bush said, adding that every police resource has been deployed to locate the "very dangerous" gunman.
Residents of Porepunkah and surrounding towns have been advised by police to stay indoors and to avoid unnecessary travel.
Bush said that police are working to locate the gunman's partner and two children. Local media reported that he was on the run with members of his family. ■
