What we learned: Tuesday, 26 August
With that, we will wrap the blog for the evening. Thank you for reading, please stay safe and take care.
Here’s a summary of how events unfolded:
Two police, a 59-year-old detective and a 35-year-old senior constable, have been killed and another detective remains in hospital in a serious but stable condition after a shooting occurred while police executed a search warrant at a semi-rural property in Porepunkah, regional Victoria.
Ten officers attended the property during the incident, which occurred at about 10.30am, with those numbers indicating the “gravity” of the situation, Victorian police chief commissioner Mike Bush told reporters on this evening.
The suspect, who lived at the property, fled into the bush alone and remained at large and heavily armed, police said. The whereabouts of his partner and two children were unknown.
The community of Porepunkah has been told to stay indoors as Victoria Police deploy every specialist resource to search for the suspect. He has not been named, however police expect to release images of the man soon.
Porepunkah Primary School was in lockdown earlier today however parents were able to pick up their children this afternoon. A nearby caravan park remains in lockdown, and the local pub is shut.
Tributes have poured in from the prime minister, police organisations and emergency services around the country to the loved ones of the killed officers, and a visibly emotional mayor of the Alpine Shire has spoken of the “deep sorrow and shock” in the community.
Updated
Suspect lived in bus on semi-rural property with partner and children, Bush says
Bush says there will be a “full deployment” this evening to search for the suspect.
Every available person is out there looking for this suspect. You are advised to stay indoors as this goes on … We’ll be reconsidering our approach and our messaging by the hour.
We have nothing to suggest that he’s fled the area, but we are keeping a very open mind.
He describes the suspect’s address as a semi-rural property with a bus on site, which housed the alleged offender, his partner and children.
My message to that person is give yourself up so that the community can be at peace and we can have this matter resolved peacefully.
Finally, Bush says police are likely to provide an image of the suspect “imminently” and concludes with:
Terrible day for the community. Terrible day for the officers and their families, and Victoria Police are fully deployed to bring this matter to a peaceful conclusion. Thank you.
Updated
