3 d. ago As a dark chapter closes, NZ reckons with fugitive father Tom Phillips’ four years on the run

Phillips’ three children were rescued from the wilderness this week as the complex case stirs emotions and questions remain over how it unfoldedIn a dark, grimy dugout in the middle of the freezing New Zealand bush, the three Phillips children lived with their father. Childhood is measured in increments; birthdays, lost teeth, certificates, a felt tip on a height chart. In the version of reality Tom Phillips created and controlled for his children, it’s hard to know how time was marked. But from 9 December 2021, when their father took them from their mother and the rest of their family, it would be 1,368 sleeps before the children were rescued.This week, after almost four years on the run, Phillips was found on his way back from a robbery with one of his children. He was shot dead after being stopped by road spikes and opening fire on police, shooting an officer in the head and shoulder. This sparked an urgent search for the two children remaining in the bush. They were found with t...

Politics

5 d. ago Identity of man hauled away by cops after Charlie Kirk murder uncovered

George Zinn was arrested after the shooting and dragged away from the scene by police officers.

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1 week ago Ray taught Dezi Freeman about the bush. Later, he watched in dismay as his friend became ‘radicalised’

Accused Porepunkah killer’s former bushwalking companion speaks out as survival experts say Freeman’s chances of evading capture are waningFollow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastLast month Dezi Freeman fled into the thick bushland of Victoria’s high country. Despite 450 police officers, members of the Australian defence force, paramilitary vehicles and helicopters tracking the fugitive, he has managed to keep hiding.On Tuesday, it will be two weeks since Freeman disappeared into the Mount Buffalo national park, after allegedly shooting and killing two police officers and injuring a third at his residence on Rayner Track in Porepunkah, 300km north-east of Melbourne. The funeral for Sen Const Vadim de Waart-Hottart, 35, was held on Friday at the Victoria police academy, with hundreds of mourners including the prime minister, Anthony Albanese, and premier, Jacinta Allan, attending. A funeral service for Det Leadi...

Politics

2 w. ago Porepunkah’s alleged police killer vanished into wild alpine bush – leaving locals behind in the mess

Dezi Freeman’s anti-government views and bushcraft skills were well-known in the small Victorian town before he allegedly killed two officersGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastIt didn’t take long for Dezi Freeman to allegedly shoot and kill two police officers before he vanished into the bush in the Victorian high country, seemingly without a trace.That brief moment in time launched a manhunt that has involved hundreds of police officers from all over the country, some of Australia’s elite special forces, a visit from the premier and, as one local described it, a media “circus” in the small town of Porepunkah, in Victoria’s north east. Continue reading...

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2 w. ago Porepunkah shooting: Victoria police ‘throwing everything’ at manhunt in ‘severe weather’ for shooting suspect

Police say heavily armed suspect has not been seen as they continue to scour bushland around rural property where two police officers were killedVictoria police shooting live updatesWho is Dezi Freeman? Porepunkah shooting suspect has association with ‘sovereign citizen’ ideas and called police ‘terrorist thugs’Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastPolice have urged Porepunkah shooting suspect Dezi Freeman to call triple zero and surrender as their “protracted” manhunt in difficult terrain enters its third evening.Victoria police said on Thursday they had conducted searches on multiple properties near the rural township, warning anyone who harboured the alleged gunman would be prosecuted. Continue reading...

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2 w. ago In idyllic Porepunkah, a manhunt this huge feels ‘surreal’ – and the alleged killer could be anywhere

A peaceful Victoria town has been rocked by the fatal shootings of two police officers, leaving locals shuttered indoors and police scouring bushland for the suspectWho is Dezi Freeman? Porepunkah shooting suspect called police ‘terrorist thugs’ and tried to arrest magistrateHow a police search warrant at a rural Victorian property ended in a day of tragedyGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastIt would have been idyllic were it not for the sound of a police helicopter reverberating over the valley.By late afternoon on Wednesday the rain had slowed to a drizzle in Porepunkah. Mist curled around the foothills of Mt Buffalo. Cows and sheep grazed under a grey sky, unperturbed by the massive manhunt around them. Continue reading...

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2 w. ago Victoria shooting update: alleged gunman fled with ‘powerful firearms’ and ‘understands bushcraft well’, police say

Police say suspect Dezi Freeman knows Victorian high country bushland ‘better than us’, as tributes paid to two dead officersVictoria police shooting live updatesWho is Dezi Freeman? Porepunkah shooting suspect called police ‘terrorist thugs’ and tried to arrest magistrateWhat we know so far about the shooting in rural AustraliaGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastAn adventure-loving local detective planning his retirement and a senior constable on temporary assignment in Victoria’s alpine region have been identified as the victims of a shooting in Porepunkah.Detective leading senior constable Neal Thompson, 59, and senior constable Vadim De Waart, 35, were on Wednesday named by police as the officers allegedly killed by Dezi Freeman on Tuesday morning. Continue reading...

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2 w. ago Porepunkah shooting live: police victims named; up to one metre of snow forecast for Victoria’s alpine areas as manhunt continues

Victoria police chief commissioner Mike Bush says suspect Dezi Freeman, 56, is “heavily armed” and still at large. Follow live updatesPorepunkah shooting: two Victoria police officers dead, one injured in attack at rural propertyWhat we know so far about the shooting in rural AustraliaThe chief commissioner of Victoria police, Mike Bush, said Freeman, 56, is “heavily armed” and still at large. Bush said a “large team” were “absolutely focused” on finding the suspect:We are pouring every resource into this search for this person, we must find him The hunt will continue until we find him. Continue reading...

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2 w. ago Porepunkah shooting live: police release image of suspect; up to one metre of snow forecast for Victoria’s alpine areas as manhunt continues

Victoria police chief commissioner Mike Bush says suspect Dezi Freeman, 56, is “heavily armed” and still at large. Follow live updatesPorepunkah shooting: two Victoria police officers dead, one injured in attack at rural propertyWhat we know so far about the shooting in rural AustraliaThe chief commissioner of Victoria police, Mike Bush, said Freeman, 56, is “heavily armed” and still at large. Bush said a “large team” were “absolutely focused” on finding the suspect:We are pouring every resource into this search for this person, we must find him The hunt will continue until we find him. Continue reading...

Events

2 w. ago Porepunkah shooting live: suspect did not own property where killings took place; police manhunt continues for shooter

Victoria police chief commissioner Mike Bush says suspect Dezi Freeman, 56, is “heavily armed” and still at large. Follow live updatesPorepunkah shooting: two Victoria police officers dead, one injured in attack at rural propertyWhat we know so far about the shooting in rural AustraliaThe chief commissioner of Victoria police, Mike Bush, said Freeman, 56, is “heavily armed” and still at large. Bush said a “large team” were “absolutely focused” on finding the suspect:We are pouring every resource into this search for this person, we must find him The hunt will continue until we find him. Continue reading...

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2 w. ago Australian police identify suspect in fatal shooting of officers as manhunt enters second day

Australian police have identified a suspect who shot and killed two police officers and seriously wounded a third as the search for the shooter entered day two in a vast, remote rural area in the country’s southeast

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2 w. ago Porepunkah shooting live: Victoria police say suspect on the run has several powerful firearms and ‘understands bushcraft well’

Follow live updatesPorepunkah shooting: two Victoria police officers dead, one injured in attack at rural propertyWhat we know so far about the shooting in rural AustraliaThe chief commissioner of Victoria police, Mike Bush, said Freeman, 56, is “heavily armed” and still at large. Bush said a “large team” were “absolutely focused” on finding the suspect:We are pouring every resource into this search for this person, we must find him The hunt will continue until we find him. Continue reading...

Events

2 w. ago Porepunkah shooting live: Victoria police say suspect is ‘heavily armed’ and still at large

Follow live updatesPorepunkah shooting: two Victoria police officers dead, one injured in attack at rural propertyWhat we know so far about the shooting in rural AustraliaThe chief commissioner of Victoria police, Mike Bush, said Freeman, 56, is “heavily armed” and still at large. Bush said a “large team” were “absolutely focused” on finding the suspect:We are pouring every resource into this search for this person, we must find him The hunt will continue until we find him. Continue reading...

Events

3 w. ago ‘Dangerous’ suspect who allegedly killed two officers escaped into bush alone and is believed to be ‘heavily armed’ – as it happened

This blog has now closedPorepunkah shooting: two Victoria police officers dead, one injured in attack at rural propertyWhat we know so far about the shooting in rural AustraliaWangaratta police have confirmed there is still an “active incident” ongoing and are continuing to urge people to avoid the area.In a statement published to its social media page a moment ago, the local police service said Victoria police “continues to respond to an incident at a property in Porepunkah”.This is still an active incident and we will provide more information when it’s operationally safe to do so.We ask people avoid the area.Tonight’s Ordinary Council Meeting has also been postponed, and will be rescheduled for two weeks’ time. Further details will be provided at a later date.We thank you for your patience and understanding. Continue reading...

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3 w. ago Victoria police shooting live updates: suspect who allegedly killed two officers in ‘horrific’ attack at large and believed to be armed

Follow live updatesPorepunkah shooting: two Victoria police officers dead, one injured in attack at rural propertyWhat we know so far about the shooting in rural AustraliaWangaratta police have confirmed there is still an “active incident” ongoing and are continuing to urge people to avoid the area.In a statement published to its social media page a moment ago, the local police service said Victoria police “continues to respond to an incident at a property in Porepunkah”.This is still an active incident and we will provide more information when it’s operationally safe to do so.We ask people avoid the area.Tonight’s Ordinary Council Meeting has also been postponed, and will be rescheduled for two weeks’ time. Further details will be provided at a later date.We thank you for your patience and understanding. Continue reading...

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3 w. ago Australia police shooting latest: Two officers dead and search underway for gunman ‘accompanied by a child’

Prime minister Anthony Albanese praises officers for their bravery

Events

3 w. ago 2 police officers killed and another shot in a rural Australian town

Two police officers were killed and another seriously wounded in a shooting at a property in rural Australia and the suspect was at large

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3 w. ago Australia police shooting latest: Two officers dead and search underway for gunman ‘accompanied by children’

Prime minister Anthony Albanese praises officers for their bravery

Events

3 w. ago Victoria police shooting live updates: ‘Significant search’ underway for alleged offender after two officers dead, one injured while executing search warrant at rural property

Follow live updatesPorepunkah shooting: two Victoria police officers dead, one injured in attack at rural propertyWhat we know so far about the shooting in rural AustraliaWangaratta police have confirmed there is still an “active incident” ongoing and are continuing to urge people to avoid the area.In a statement published to its social media page a moment ago, the local police service said Victoria police “continues to respond to an incident at a property in Porepunkah”.This is still an active incident and we will provide more information when it’s operationally safe to do so.We ask people avoid the area.Tonight’s Ordinary Council Meeting has also been postponed, and will be rescheduled for two weeks’ time. Further details will be provided at a later date.We thank you for your patience and understanding. Continue reading...

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3 w. ago Victoria police shooting live updates: Alpine Shire mayor describes ‘deep sorrow and shock’ after two officers dead, one injured at rural property

Follow live updatesPorepunkah shooting: two Victoria police officers dead, one injured in attack at rural propertyWhat we know so far about the shooting in rural AustraliaWangaratta police have confirmed there is still an “active incident” ongoing and are continuing to urge people to avoid the area.In a statement published to its social media page a moment ago, the local police service said Victoria police “continues to respond to an incident at a property in Porepunkah”.This is still an active incident and we will provide more information when it’s operationally safe to do so.We ask people avoid the area.Tonight’s Ordinary Council Meeting has also been postponed, and will be rescheduled for two weeks’ time. Further details will be provided at a later date.We thank you for your patience and understanding. Continue reading...

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