MELBOURNE, March 30 (Xinhua) -- Police in the Australian state of Victoria on Monday fatally shot a man accused of killing two police officers in an August 2025 shooting that triggered the largest operation in Australian history.
Victoria Police said that officers searching for 56-year-old Desmond Freeman shot and killed a man following a stand-off in the small town of Thologolong, 300 km northeast of Melbourne, on Monday morning.
It comes seven months after Freeman allegedly shot dead two police officers on his rural property in the town of Porepunkah in Victoria's High Country before fleeing into dense bushland on Aug. 26, 2025.
The subsequent search of the rugged area was the largest tactical police operation in Australian history, involving hundreds of officers from Australia and New Zealand as well as the army.
A record reward of up to 1 million Australian dollars (686,545 U.S. dollars) for any information leading to the arrest of Freeman was announced in September 2025.
Victoria Police Chief Commissioner Mike Bush said on Monday that officers arrived at the property in Thologolong, 90 km northeast of Porepunkah, at around 5:30 a.m. and that the man was shot following a stand-off.
"There was an opportunity for him to surrender peacefully, which he declined," he said.
"Everything I know at this point tells me that this shooting was justified."
Bush said it was quite possible that shots were fired at police during the stand-off on Monday, but that no officers were injured.
He said that police believe Freeman was assisted by other people following the August shooting and that the investigation would now focus on holding them to account. ■
