Man hunting after two police officers killed

A huge manhunt is underway for a “heavily armed” male suspect after two Australian police officers were killed and one injured in an ambush in a property in a small rural town in the state of Victoria.

The police described the situation in Porepunkah in the Australian Alps – about 300 km (186 miles) northeast of Melbourne – like an “active incident” with hundreds of staff deployed to find the suspect.

Police were attacked like 10 of them attended the property to serve an arrest warrant, which, according to Australian media, was for historical sexual offenses.

The police said that the suspect escaped in the bush alone and on foot after the shooting. Agents always try to locate the woman and the children of the man.

Victoria police commissioner Mike Bush said 10 police officers went to the property on Tuesday around 10:30 am, local time (00:30 GMT).

He described police officers licensed by a heavily armed offender, saying that two colleagues – a 59 -year -old detective and a 35 -year -old main agent – were “murdered in cold blood”.

A third officer was seriously injured and transported by plane to hospital.

The head of the State police said that all the available resources were used during human hunting for a “dangerous” suspect and urged residents to stay inside.

“(Our) priority is to stop it and bring security to this community,” said the officer.

He added that the suspect would have been alone at the time of the shooting, and that the police “always seek to locate his partner and his two children, but he was not seen in the bush with them”.

Mr. Bush did not confirm the nature of the raid that the officers were performing on the property.

Images of the scene earlier Tuesday showed that dozens of police officers deployed in Porepunkah and a police helicopter turned in the region.

The city, which houses around 1,000 people, is part of the local Alpine Shire local government area.

In a statement, the mayor of the Council of Shire Alpine, Sarah Nicholas, paid tribute to the officers, extending the “thoughts, love and unwavering support” to their families.

“Today was a day of deep sorrow and shock for our community … We are in mourning together,” she said.

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Prime Minister of Victoria Jacinta Allan both congratulated the police for their bravery.

Emily White, the local resident, told the BBC that she and her guests were absent from a park of caravans she owned.

“I think reality has really settled – it’s a really, really horrible situation,” said White.

“We are such a small community, and we will leave our cars unlocked, and we will leave our entrance doors open. Nothing like it ever happens.”

Reports in the Austalian media say that the alleged shooter is a self -proclaimed “sovereign citizen” – who refers to someone who wrongly believes that they are not subject to Australian laws and government authorities.

Called Sovcits to short, these people have been present in the country for decades, according to Australian federal police (AFP).

The police say that they are for the most part harmless, but there has been a resurgence of beliefs in recent years – partly fueled by distrust by the authorities who have been exacerbated by the cocovid pandemic.

In its information note in 2023, AFP said that the movement had “an underlying capacity to inspire violence”.

The crime of firearms is relatively rare in Australia, which has some of the most strict firearms in the world.