Fugitive gunman Dezi Freeman was shot dead by police on Monday morning, bringing an end to a seven-month manhunt that gripped Australia.

However those closest to him say they never underestimated his determination for revenge or his desperation to one day see his family again.

Freeman, 56, was shot shortly after 8.30am after he was reportedly found inside a ‘long caravan’ near Walwa, about 180km northeast of Porepunkah, where he went missing on August 26.

Freeman had evaded cops, the army and special forces in Victoria’s biggest manhunt for months after gunning down two police officers.

Ten officers had attended his makeshift home, a bus he shared with his wife and two children in Porepunkah, to serve a warrant when the deadly shootout erupted.

After shooting the officers, Dezi took off on foot, vanishing into the bushland of Mount Buffalo National Park until police finally found at a property in northeast Victoria on Monday.

Freeman, said to be armed with a firearm wrapped in a blanket, was offered the chance to surrender during a three hour stand-off, say cops.

But instead he sparked a shootout, and was killed instantly. No police were injured.

Fugitive Dezi Freeman has been shot dead after seven months on the run after reportedly being found inside a shipping container

Daily Mail understands police tried to negotiate with the sovereign citizen before he was killed

Freeman was reportedly shot in Walwa about 188km northeast of Porepunkah, where he went missing on August 26, 2025

Freeman’s sudden death has devastated his family, who have endured months of fear and uncertainty. 

While his eldest son Koah Freeman previously told the Daily Mail he was resigned to the fact his dad may have ended his life, he also admitted his father had the survival skills and highly-trained mindset to stay on the run. 

Koah revealed his dad was obsessed with the Rambo movies and likened his father to the main character who clashes with the town’s police after going on the run.

‘Especially the first Rambo movie,’ Koah said. ‘It’s like that but 10 times capacity.’

That same sentiment has been echoed by other family members, who never doubted Freeman’s ability, or more concerning, his vendetta against police.

‘Dezi’s hatred for authority dates back decades,’ confirmed a close source after hearing the news of his death.

‘Ending his own life wouldn’t be something he’d do unless it was the last resort.

‘He’d want revenge and given his long history with authority there is little doubt that’s what he was plotting for six months.

‘The isolation wouldn’t bother him; in fact it would just make him more determined and more focused.’

The Porepunkah property where Dezi Freeman shot and killed two Victoria Police officers after they tried to execute a warrant for alleged historical sexual offences

Freeman shot dead Detective Leading Senior Constable Neal Thompson, 59 – a local officer who was on the brink of retirement

He also shot dead Senior Constable Vadim de Waart-Hottart, 34

The source continued: ‘And if he did have help in this container they found him at, then he would probably knew they arrested his wife and that would have made him furious.

‘Dezi was a good dad and he loved his family more than anything and he’d want to make sure they were okay.’

Victoria Police’s Chief Commissioner Mike Bush confirmed authorities had tried to negotiate with the sovereign citizen during the three-hour standoff on Monday morning, before he was killed.

‘There was an appeal to encourage the person to come out, we’re examining the sequence of events,’ Chief Commissioner Mike Bush said.

‘There was an opportunity for him to surrender peacefully, which he did not. We strongly believe, yet to be confirmed, that he was armed.’

Commissioner Bush said a very large team had been involved in the operation on Monday, and that investigations continue.

‘There was a lot to suggest that Freeman had taken his own life (before today),’ he said.

‘But I can tell you standing here that our investigators, that’s why they’re professionals, keep their mind open to every possible outcome and follow every possible lead.’

Reports suggest police had received a tip-off ‘from someone close to him’ before locating him.

Wayne Gatt, secretary of the Police Association Victoria, said the shooting was a ‘step forward’ for the force.