- 6 weeks ago
WATCH: Victoria Police Commissioner Mike Bush addresses the Media in Wangaratta after the fatal police shooting in Porepunkah. 26.8.25
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00:00The word tragic doesn't begin to describe what occurred today in our community, the poor punkah.
00:08The community and police family are grieving tonight.
00:14I'd like to share some details with you.
00:18Firstly, I want to acknowledge our fine and brave officers that lost their lives today in the line of duty.
00:27One of those officers was a 59-year-old detective.
00:32The other officer, a 35-year-old senior constable.
00:37One of our other good officers was a detective.
00:44He has been shot and is currently in surgery, been treated.
00:50His injuries are not life-threatening.
00:54In terms of the current situation, the suspect for this horrific event is still at large.
01:05We believe he is armed.
01:09We have deployed every specialist resource into this area to locate him.
01:20It is our priority.
01:22Our priority is to arrest him to ensure that he's held to account for the actions, but also very much to bring safety and security to this community.
01:36We have hundreds of police resources assigned to this very important task.
01:48I would like to ensure the community that we're doing every effort.
01:53I do ask members of the community to stay indoors, take care of themselves.
02:04If you see anything or hear anything that concerns you, please ring us at the local station, triple zero or Crime Stoppers.
02:14I would like to talk to the police family and the loved ones of our lost and fallen officers.
02:27Myself and every member of Victoria Police are with you at this moment.
02:35Our hearts go out to you.
02:37Our hearts go out to you.
02:38We thank those courageous officers.
02:40In fact, we thank every police officer who comes to work every day to keep their communities safe.
02:48Knowing that these things can and do occur.
02:54So we are with our officers every step of the way.
03:01And we will do everything to look after the families of those officers.
03:07I have received messages from all my Commissioner colleagues across Australia who feel this as much as we do.
03:20And they send their support and love and offer every assistance also.
03:26I will remain here to answer some questions, but I would now like to hand over to Mr. Wayne Gap, who is the head of the Police Association.
03:39Thank you, Wayne.
03:41I'd like to thank the Chief Commissioner for his leadership and support.
03:45Our immediate thoughts are obviously with the loved ones and the families of our Fort Worth officers.
03:51Police stations have fallen silent in Victoria.
03:55When we were first notified, there's a shocking and eerie feeling of dread and, indeed, a sense of not knowing what to do.
04:06And that's something that's being echoed in every police station across this state right now.
04:10Indeed, as we're having this press conference here today, thousands of police at home, in police stations, in mess rooms, in must rooms will be watching this.
04:20And I want to say to those people that are members of the police force found here, members of the police association standing with their colleagues, supporting those colleagues.
04:31It's important for you to understand if you're out in the field.
04:36And I do want to acknowledge that we still have hundreds of our members putting themselves in danger right at this school in an attempt to improve this situation.
04:46Our members today paid the ultimate price.
04:49It's the price that is often in the back of our minds.
04:54Something we try to keep there as much as we can.
04:57Sadly, on days like this, it comes to the surface.
05:01It comes out.
05:02In fact, it's too clear.
05:03Too clear.
05:04Police officers today across the state will go home.
05:07They'll crash at that point.
05:08The moment they're busy doing their job, trying to keep things going and trying to resolve the situation.
05:17But when they're in the quiet and silence of their homes, they will crash.
05:21They will have to deal with the loss of their colleagues.
05:24And they'll hug their loved ones a little tighter.
05:27Something, sadly, two of our members tonight will have missed the opportunity to do forever.
05:33Thank you very nicely said.
05:37I'm happy to take questions.
05:39But you will, of course, understand this is an ongoing situation.
05:43The suit of this person.
05:45Chief, at this stage, what can you tell us about this suspect?
05:49About a man on that?
05:51There are some things in the public domain.
05:54We know that the person is heavily armed.
05:57We know that they are dangerous, obviously, down to what they've done.
06:02Here this morning.
06:04I'm not going to go to any other further details until that person is apprehended.
06:09Well, can you tell us about how this unfolded this afternoon or later this morning?
06:15What unfolded today was that ten very dedicated police officers went to execute a search warrant at that address.
06:23And we are still debriefing the other officers that were involved.
06:30The seven officers that are physically okay, but not very traumatised, obviously.
06:41They were met by the offender and they were murdered in conflict.
06:52How was he able to get away?
06:54He was heavily armed and he was able to escape into the bush.
07:00Well, you understand that he was pursued, but he was able to get away.
07:05At that point did he take people with him and be reported a woman and at least one child?
07:15He was on his own, according to our police witnesses that saw him head into the bush.
07:24We are still looking to locate his partner and two children, but he was not seen to head into the bush with them.
07:33We are still debriefing our police officers that were at the scene to understand where his wife and two kids were.
07:42What was the nature of the raid earlier this morning?
07:44I am not going to disclose that at this point.
07:46I am sure it will come out at some point, but I am not going to discuss it at this point.
07:51Can you describe the terrain where he is at the moment? What is it like?
07:56It is semi-rural.
07:58Is it rugged?
08:02It can be.
08:03It depends how far he has got.
08:05But we have got every resource on the ground and in the air looking for that at the moment.
08:10How large is the area where you are looking for him?
08:13It is large.
08:14We have got a cordon around the area.
08:16I can't give you the meterage or the acreage.
08:19But it is a large area that we have got cordon of.
08:22Was an assessment made about involving a special operations group in executing the search warrant?
08:28Was any thought given to arresting him in a public place?
08:33I can tell you that there was a risk assessment done prior to the search warrant, but I can't go into any further details.
08:39It is very standard to do that.
08:41What is the level of threat to the public at the moment?
08:44The public should remain inside.
08:47He is obviously a very dangerous person and he needs to be caught.
08:52And that is why we have committed every resource to do that.
08:55Is his partner being treated as a hostage or is she being thought of as an accomplice of some sort?
09:01I mentioned a minute ago that he was seen going into the bush alone.
09:05We don't know exactly where his wife is at the moment or the children.
09:10And we have no information to suggest whether he is with or without them.
09:16Were they there at that?
09:18Did the police officers say?
09:19We are still learning about that.
09:20That is a good question.
09:21The same question I have asked.
09:22And we are yet to establish that fact.
09:24Are there multiple families and groups living out in that area?
09:28My belief is that it is their residence.
09:31It is semi-rural.
09:33They are wing right up.
09:35The officers are rural.
09:36I am not going to go into which officers at this stage.
09:39We will obviously, when all next of kin are informed, be able to tell you who those officers are that are in passing.
09:46There were reports that these blokes picked up the firearms of the two deceased officers and taken up again.
09:52Is that any truth for that?
09:53We are still examining the scene at the moment.
09:56If that is so, then that adds to the severity, obviously.
10:01But he already has lethal weapons.
10:04Is he in appears obviously in arms to police police?
10:07Yes.
10:08How long did this incident occur at the property?
10:13How long did it go for?
10:14It happened over minutes.
10:16But the officers that were involved, the seven that were uninjured, remained there for hours.
10:25While we locked down the area and made it secure.
10:28So you have to be very careful when you have an offender at large that you know to be armed.
10:32Did police discharge their weapons in it?
10:34We are still looking into that matter.
10:36I won't say whether they did or didn't.
10:38And did they have it?
10:39At this point.
10:40But I am sure we will be able to share those details at some point.
10:45Is the indication that ten officers attended, the fact that ten officers attended, is that
10:51an indication that that risk assessment that was undertaken came back saying there was a
10:55pretty strong risk here?
10:57The person has known to us.
10:59There was a risk assessment done.
11:01And the fact that there were ten officers attending the search warrant does talk to the gravity of the situation.
11:09Does that mean that there has been previous concerns about weapons on the property?
11:14At some point we will talk to the full detail of this.
11:18At the moment our priority is to locate the suspect.
11:21Has there been any communication with him since he engaged with officers this morning?
11:26Not to my knowledge.
11:27And was there a conversation before the guns were fired?
11:31I can't answer that question at the moment because I don't know that detail.
11:35Do you know how many firearms he has it?
11:37Several, at least.
11:39Do we know what kind of firearms?
11:41We do.
11:42Yes.
11:43Obviously lethal, but I'm not going to go into that.
11:46Would you, was he expecting police to be there today?
11:52I couldn't answer that question.
11:54We don't ring ahead.
11:57So we wouldn't have given him any notice that we were coming to execute search warrant.
12:01But does it appear that he was prepared for this type of scenario?
12:04That will form part of the investigation.
12:06Just one thing.
12:07It would be wrong for me to speculate on that at the moment.
12:11Just following on from that, are you able to see in general if any of these sort of processes
12:16have changed since the failed for the students in one another?
12:20I can tell you that we do do robust risk assessments around these jobs.
12:25Our staff were armed when they went to the address, obviously.
12:29Has anything changed since what happened at Windsor?
12:32I can't personally comment on that, although I've spoken to the Acting Commissioner from Queensland.
12:38And she rang to support our people, but also to say that the people involved in that shooting are again traumatised by this event.
12:50What does tonight look like in terms of research?
12:53It looks like a full deployment.
12:55Every available person is out there looking for this suspect.
12:58The advice to stay indoors, as this goes on, how far does that stretch in the Alponshire?
13:04We'll be reconsidering our approach and our messaging by the hour.
13:10What would you like to say to people who are drawing similarities or conclusions?
13:15Early in the investigation at the moment, please keep an open mind, but the more information that comes to hand,
13:26the more we'll be able to piece this together.
13:28Chief Commissioner, obviously in the local station up here, have you spoken to 20 of the local offices and how are they holding up?
13:36Only very briefly, we're obviously here, Wayne and I, to support the staff that aren't here.
13:42It's extremely traumatic.
13:44So while they are all affected by it, they're all extremely professional and focused on the job at hand.
13:50You mentioned these, some of them are experienced police officers.
13:53Can you touch or shed some light on their experience in the force?
13:57Not at this point, but I'm sure we will.
13:59What would you like to say to their families tonight?
14:02We're here for them. We are deeply, deeply sorry for this event.
14:09We will give them every support that we possibly can.
14:13And that extends to the officers' immediate families, but also the family of police.
14:19Do you have a message for the person who filled these officers?
14:23My message to that person is give yourself up so that the community can be at peace
14:29and we can have this matter resolved peacefully.
14:33When are you going to put out an image of the suspect?
14:37Thank you for that question.
14:39Probably imminently.
14:42I understand there are already images in the public domain, but we'll put out our own message.
14:48And the opposite is from the North East?
14:50I'm not going to say anything at this point until we're at a position to tell you exactly who those officers are and give you their backgrounds.
15:03Are you getting support from New South Wales?
15:06In terms of special operations?
15:10Yeah, they are briefed and on standby to assist.
15:13They've reached out, we've reached out to them.
15:16Is that common?
15:19Absolutely.
15:20Have they already sent people here or are they just...
15:24They're on standby.
15:25Have you had any communication from the public, any sightings, anything that has helped at this point?
15:32We're getting a wealth of information that we're working through at the moment, but I can't give you any specifics on that.
15:40But, you know, I encourage the public to continue to ring in whether they're certain about things or not.
15:49Please, if you think it's going to be important or will help us find them, please contact us.
15:54You mentioned earlier, hour by hour, this messaging will change.
15:57What is the best way for people listening to be aware of the situation and the changing situation?
16:04Yes, we've got really good comms people here who will put our messaging out from the command room upstairs to the communities.
16:11We'll put it out through radio, we'll put it out through television.
16:15Is the company still in the area? Anything to indicate he might want to flood the area?
16:20We have nothing to suggest he's fled the area, but we are keeping a very open mind.
16:24Ask questions, guys.
16:25Can you describe this?
16:26Can you describe this?
16:27Can you describe this?
16:28Can you give him some...
16:29There was a semi-rural address with a house and an adjoining bus.
16:35That's all I can tell you at the moment.
16:37And are they surrounding...
16:39I don't believe so.
16:40I know where you're going with that question.
16:42I don't believe so.
16:43I believe it was an address occupied by himself, his partner and his children.
16:49And are they not neighbouring...
16:53I'm sure there are, but I'm just not sure about the vicinity of those other properties.
16:58How many floor knocks were carried out today?
17:00I can't tell you.
17:01Last question, guys.
17:02Just a horrible day for the forces.
17:04Terrible day for the community.
17:06Terrible day for the officers and their families.
17:08And Victoria Police are fully deployed to bring this matter to a peaceful conclusion.
17:19Thank you for your attention and...
17:22I appreciate it.
17:23Thank you, my God.
17:24Thank you so much.
17:25Coming up in the moment.
17:26Foul.
17:27Ok, bye-bye.
17:28Do we have the video?
17:29See, not being asked.
17:30So you go back over here, Winston, he?
17:32Mary, played her a second.
17:33I need her.
17:36What are people saying?
17:37Is that something you can get here, sir?
17:39So you said it isn't a place to look at this echoing angle.
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