Police say Australia’s most wanted man, Desmond ‘Dezi’ Freeman, pulled a gun on police and refused to surrender following a three-hour stand-off at a North East property, leading to his death on Monday.

Victoria Police Chief Commissioner Mike Bush addressed the media on Monday following what the force believed was the conclusion of a massive six-month operation for the alleged killer of two policemen.

Chief Commissioner Bush said police had tracked down Freeman to a rural Thologolong hideout after receiving a piece of information in the days prior to their 30 March operation.

The rural Murray River Road property, near Walwa, was more than a two hour drive from where Freeman was last sighted in Porepunkah.

Chief Commissioner Bush said police had surveillance in the area prior to putting a “meticulous” plan in motion to raid the property and appeal for his surrender.

About 5:30am Monday, a large team of heavily armed Special Operation Group operatives and investigators of Taskforce Summit attended the property where Freeman was believed to be inside.

Following a three-hour stand-off at the makeshift shipping container home Freeman exited the building, believed to be armed with the pistol of Wangaratta Detective Leading Senior Constable Neal Thompson, a policeman he had allegedly killed on 26 August.

Chief Commissioner Bush said the 56-year-old had "every opportunity" to peacefully surrender and was in dialogue with police, but he aimed his firearm at police which gave operatives no other option.

“Everything I know to this point was this shooting was justified,” he said.

“We used every tactic possible to bring this to a safe conclusion, but the actions of the deceased dictated the outcome of this matter."

“Should it be this was Desmond Freeman, this brings closure to what was a tragic and terrible event.”

Chief Commissioner Bush said an investigation into the exact sequence of events was ongoing and a formal process was needed to be undertaken before the force could confirm the man shot dead was Freeman.

The State Coroner, who attended the crime scene on Monday, will conduct an independent investigation into the shooting and Freeman’s death.

Chief Commissioner Bush said it remained unclear when or how Freeman left Porepunkah and was able to find himself at the hideout at Thologolong, which had been unoccupied for at least 24 hours prior to Monday’s siege.

“We have no doubt people had come and gone from that property,” he said.

“We have no sympathy or empathy for anyone who has harboured a police killer in the state of Victoria…. if anyone was complicit, they will be held to account.

“It’s possible there were a number of people, but I can’t theorise on that, we will conduct a thorough investigation.”

It’s expected both investigations into Monday’s shooting and into Freeman’s whereabouts over the past several months would take “numerous” days.

No police officers were injured during Monday’s shooting and it was yet to be determined if there were shots fired at police.

A heavy police presence was expected to remain within the North East.

Freeman had not been seen since fleeing his Rayner Track property in Porepunkah after allegedly shooting and killing Det Led Sen Const Thompson and Senior Constable Vadim de Waart-Hottart and seriously injuring a third officer on the morning of 26 August, 2025.

A team of 10 officers were executing a search warrant as part of an investigation by the Wangaratta Sexual Offences and Child Abuse Investigation Team about 10:30am that day.

Chief Commissioner Bush said the first people to be made aware of Monday’s operation were the victim’s families and the Wangaratta officers involved in the initial search warrant on 26 August.

“I believe this has brought closure to them [families]… it brings closure to every member of Victoria Police,” he said.

Immediately following the incident police conducted multiple extensive searches within the Mount Buffalo National Park and Porepunkah area.

Various Australian, New Zealand and state agencies have assisted with one of the largest searches in the country’s history, which involved more than 2000 police members.

Taskforce Summit was established in October to coordinate the search for Freeman and investigators have been a daily presence within the Great Alpine area since.

Chief Commissioner Bush acknowledged the community of Porepunkah and the surrounding area for their patience and perseverance shown following the tragic shooting.

“This has had an impact right across that part of Victoria, people have felt unsafe and we’ve done everything we can to assure them,” he said.

“But for them, this should bring this to a conclusion.”

Detectives investigated more than 2000 pieces of intelligence, including information received from the public.

Chief Commissioner Bush was joined by lead investigators of the taskforce in Melbourne on Monday and at Thologolong and Wodonga as he addressed the media.

A reward of up to $1 million for information leading to Freeman’s arrest was on offer, the largest reward for an arrest in Victorian history.

Chief Commissioner Bush said any distribution of the reward was to be kept confidential.

“There’s lots to be done, we will keep the public updated about how this matter unfolds and is concluded,” he said.