Man fatally shot as part of operation to locate Desmond Freeman

A man has been fatally shot by police this morning at a rural property in Thologolong as part of the operation to locate Desmond Freeman.

The shooting occurred at the property shortly after 8.30am following a stand-off of several hours with police, including members of the Special Operations Group and detectives from Taskforce Summit.

Police rendered assistance however the man died at the scene.

No one else was present at the property and no police were physically injured during the incident.

While the man is yet to be formally identified, police believe it is likely to be 56-year-old Porepunkah man Desmond Freeman.

The exact circumstances surrounding the incident are yet to be determined, however it’s understood a number of police discharged their firearms.

Police also believe Freeman was armed and further investigation will take place to determine if he discharged a firearm.

The State Coroner will attend the scene today and the investigation will be oversighted by Professional Standards Command, as per standard procedure following a police shooting.

About 10.30am on 26 August, 2026, Detective Leading Senior Constable Neal Thompson and Senior Constable Vadim de Waart-Hottart were fatally shot by Freeman during a confrontation at his Porepunkah property.

A third officer was also seriously injured after being shot in the lower body during the incident at the Rayner Track address.

The officers were executing a search warrant as part of an investigation by the Wangaratta Sexual Offences and Child Abuse Investigation Team.

Since that time, Victoria Police has worked tirelessly to locate Freeman with a number of large-scale searches undertaken in the Porepunkah area.

Detectives also followed up over 2000 pieces of information in an effort to locate Freeman.

Taskforce Summit was established to lead the search, comprised of detectives from Crime Command, including specialist resources from the Fugitive Squad, Armed Crime Squad and VIPER Taskforce, and supported by Special Operations Group, Search and Rescue Squad, and local Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems members.

Victoria Police would like to thank all the law enforcement agencies, emergency services and volunteers who have tirelessly assisted police with the investigation and searches.

Police would also like to acknowledge the members of the public, in particular the Porepunkah community, for their assistance over the past seven months.

Natalie Webster
Media Unit
141091