MELBOURNE, Australia. (AP) — Australian police said they believe they shot dead a suspect Monday accused of killing two police officers and seriously wounding a third in a remote forest region seven months ago.

There had been no confirmed sightings of Dezi Freeman, 56, since he allegedly opened fire on police officers who came to serve a warrant at his home near Porepunkah in Victoria state northeast of Melbourne on Aug. 26 last year, Victoria’s Chief Commissioner of Police Mike Bush said on Monday.

A man believed to be Freeman was fatally shot by police on Monday at a remote location near Thologolong, around two hours’ drive north of Porepunkah, a police statement said.

“We believe it is Freeman, but we have to go through a formal identification process,” Bush told reporters in Melbourne. Identification could take up to 48 hours through processes including fingerprinting.

Heavily armed Special Operations Group tactical police were involved in a standoff for three hours before the suspect was shot. He had been inside a shelter like a shipping container and did take up a police offer to surrender, Bush said.

“This was all about bringing this to a conclusion as safely as possible. Our ultimate goal was to arrest the person there … as peacefully as possible,” Bush said.

Bush said he “strongly believed” the suspect was armed. Bush could not say whether the suspect fired at police.

Australian news outlets widely reported that Freeman espoused co-called sovereign citizen beliefs and had grievances with police. He had wilderness survival skills that police feared could sustain him living in the open indefinitely.

The shooting of three police officers led to a massive search across Victoria’s heavily forested alpine region. In recent months, police said they suspected Freedman had killed himself.

“We have to follow every avenue of inquiry and there was a lot to suggest that Freedman had taken his own life,” Bush said.

Bush would not say whether a tipoff led police to the suspect on Monday. Police had offered a 1 million Australian dollar ($678,000) reward for information.

Police said they continue to investigate whether others had helped the suspect avoid arrest.

The Making Every Moment Count Campaign managed to raise over £214,000 to help the hospice run its vital services, more than double the £100,000 goal.

The campaign was ‘match funded’, meaning that for every £1 raised, a local business or organisation would donate another £1, effectively doubling the total raised.

Kathryn Willet offering thanks to backers and champions (Image: Dan Dougherty)

This was something the hospice had never tried before, and the success took them by surprise.

Kathryn Willett is the relations manager for the hospice.

“What you have all achieved is amazing,” she said, in a speech at the event.

“I couldn’t wish for better supporters – from the bottom of my heart, I can’t thank you enough.

“I still can’t get over it!”

The celebration event brought together donors and matchers for the first time, giving them the chance to meet the generous people who helped double their generous donations.

Hospice exec Leigh Vallance giving a speech thanking everyone for their generosity (Image: Dan Dougherty)

The donations were made over a 36-hour period.

They thought they’d be ok with four people on the phones, but this turned out to be an underestimation of local generosity.

“We were on the phones from nine o’clock to four o’clock,” said volunteer Anne Davison, “and we were dumbstruck with how many calls we were getting and how much money people were donating.

“We raised £214,000, and that doesn’t even include Giftaid.”

But this is not the only money the hospice will raise this year. In fact, £5.5m of the hospice’s annual £7m running cost comes from donations.

This is why the hospice is always thankful to the people that help keep them afloat, people like the Cunningham family, who estimate they have raised over £10,000 for the hospice over the years.

The celebration evening took place on March 26 (Image: Dan Dougherty)

Mark Cunningham and his daughter, former Miss Northwest Christina Cunningham, have been raising money for the hospice for years.

The two said: “It’s something we’d done for a long time, but we never expected we’d have to use it.

“It’s one of those things where you don’t think about it, but when you need it, you can’t live without it.”

It wasn’t until last year that they had to use the service themselves.

The evening’s spread (Image: Dan Dougherty)

“It was grandpa Joe,” Christina said, referring to Joseph Cunningham, her paternal grandfather, and Mark’s dad.

“None of us knew he had cancer at the time, it was all so quick.”

Joseph – a former member of the Cottontown Chorus – was moved quickly into the hospice.

“At first he was unsure about it, but soon he was moving things around, reorganising things, putting up pictures.”

Muntazir Dipoti, who volunteers for the hospice, trying to raise its profile amongst the Muslim community (Image: Dan Dougherty)

Although suffering from dementia, Joe was still able to remember the words from his old Cottontown Chorus performances after an old choir buddy came to visit.

They played a Youtube video of their MGM Grand performance in Las Vegas.

Mark said: “His voice wasn’t quite there, but he still had the rhythm of the words.

“Any time his friend made a mistake, Joe would raise his hand telling him ‘stop!’”

The Cunninghams were extremely grateful for how the hospice allowed them all to navigate Joe’s last days.

“We can’t thank the hospice enough – they made all of us feel at home,” said Christina.

Muntazir Dipoti and hospice relationships manager Kathryn Willett (Image: Dan Dougherty)

“He could see his great-granddaughter playing outside his window in the garden – you wouldn’t really get that in a hospital, where it’s more regimented.

One of the family’s last acts was to visit Joe to let him know that Christina was pregnant, and that he was about to have a great-grandson.

“We went to see him at the weekend,” said Christina, “and on Monday he died.”

Christina’s son’s was named ‘Joseph’ in his great grandfather’s honour, making him Theodore Joseph Cunningham-Jones.

“The important thing is that it allowed him to die as himself – he didn’t die as sick Joe, he died as Joe Cunningham.”

Two different roads have been closed this morning due to downed trees

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Fallen trees have caused problems for motorists this morning, (Monday) as two different roads were closed. Drivers are asked to find alternative routes while work to clear debris is underway.

The Ballygowan Road, Saintfield is currently closed due to a fallen tree and damaged NIE cable. Northern Ireland Electricity have been informed and according to Traffic Watch NI are due to respond. Road ahead closed and road closed signs are currently in place.

READ MORE: Exciting things to do in Belfast over the next weekREAD MORE: One man hospitalised after two-vehicle crash in South Belfast

The Pinehill Road in Drumbo is also currently closed in both directions close to the Mill Road due to a large tree blocking the road.

Elsewhere, traffic is currently flowing well in the greater Belfast area.

For all the latest news, visit the Belfast Live homepage here and sign up to our daily newsletter here.

A 50-year-old man will face court later today

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A 50-year-old man has been charged with murder following an incident in Portadown last week.

The charge follows the death of Rolandas Kvederis, aged 49, at a property in Ranfurley Road on Thursday night, March 26.

Police attended the scene following reports that a man had been injured in an altercation. Mr Kvederis was pronounced dead at the property.

Two men were arrested on suspicion of murder following the incident, and the other has since been released unconditionally.

The charged man is due to appear before Lisburn Magistrates’ Court later this morning, Monday, March 30.Police said that, as is standard procedure, the charge will be reviewed by the Public Prosecution Service.

For all the latest news, visit the Belfast Live homepage here and sign up to our daily newsletter here.

Alice Solomons of Sharples School is the North West winner of the Inspiring History Teaching Awards.

The head of history has worked as a teacher for 10 years, with all of that time having been spent at Sharples. She became director of history role in her very first year of teaching, and has been there since.

Now, she has been recognised for her work, “raising engagement” in history and transforming its uptake at GCSE level.

Alice Solomons (Image: Alice Solomons)

Speaking to The Bolton News, Ms Solomons said: “It was just a shock, really, and a massive honour to be recognised for all of the work at the department since I started 10 years ago.

“It is all I’ve ever known, because the head of department left in December and I had started in the September, the job came up in May and I got it.

“The status of history at the school has changed massively, because of the work that has been put in at Key Stage Three – the work that the department as a whole has done, not just me.

“Students really enjoy the subject. A lot of people think history is boring, what’s the relevance. But we have shown why it is relevant and now it is popular at GCSE, it validates your work.”

History department winning an award (Image: Alice Solomons)

She thanked Ann Webster, the former headteacher who “trusted her to do it at such a young age”, current headteacher Caroline Molyneux, her family, in particular her mum, for being the “reason she is so enthusiastic about history” and her own history teacher, Rebecca Grantham, at Rivington and Blackrod High School.

She was nominated for the award by history teacher Hollie Elias, with Ms Solomons adding: “She said she’d nominated me because of how much support I gave her as a new employee and the department as a whole, even though I wasn’t working at the time.”

She will also be attending a swanky ceremony at the Tower of London in June for the awards, saying to be recognised at a place which features in so many of her lessons is “surreal”.

Alice at the colosseum (Image: Alice Solomons)

Award organisers said in a statement: “Through her dedication to storytelling, debate and immersive activities – such as virtual reality experiences of First World War trenches – the judges praised Alice’s approach which has raised the engagement of history within Sharples School.

“Under her leadership, the subject has become one of the school’s most popular GCSE subjects with uptake rising 622 per cent since 2019.

“Alongside her commitment to lesser-known, diverse histories, Alice has also received glowing feedback from trainees, saying they ‘could not have asked for a better teacher to learn from’.” 

About 2,000 residents are currently on Darlington Borough Council’s waiting list for a home despite a shortage of available properties. 

But rival Conservative councillors fear the area’s value green spaces could soon be lost and be chosen by developers for new housing schemes. 

At last Thursday’s council meeting, councillors were asked to back plans to formally designate Bellburn Field, a triangle of land off Sparrow Hall Drive in Whinfield ward, and Tommy Crooks Park as protected community green spaces.

With more than 1,000 families on the waiting list naming the Whinfield area of the borough as their preferred option for a new home, opposition members fear sites like Sparrowhall Drive could be chosen for development. 

Jonathan Dulston, leader of the Conservatives, said: “We understand the need to build affordable and quality housing across the borough. It has to be sensible but there are areas where the impact on the community has to be a priority, not making a profit for the council.”

The motion, backed by Conservative colleague Cllr Scott Durham, urged the council to “give a clear and binding commitment that Darlington Borough Council will not sell, lease, or otherwise dispose of these pieces of land for development or private ownership.”

Although it was not supported by cross-party councillors, leaders agreed in principle to protect Tommy Crooks Park and the Bellburn Field. 

But for Sparrow Hall Drive, Darlington Borough Council confirmed that, in February 2022, the land was included as part of the council’s housing allocation, meaning it is available for development.

The then Conservative-led administration removed Springfield Park, also in the Whinfield ward, from the allocation but did not remove Sparrow Hall Drive. 

Chris McEwan, Labour deputy leader, said: “Cllrs Dulston and Durham are more interested in playing political games than improving residents’ lives. More focused on Facebook than facts. 

“Now, they are calling on Tommy Crooks Park, Bellburn Field, and land at Sparrow Hall Drive to be protected. But if that is their priority, then why didn’t they protect them in the Local Plan that they published and voted for?”

And highlighting the council’s ongoing housing issues, Cllr McEwan said the local authority needs to balance protecting valued green spaces with the need for new homes that residents “desperately need”.  

He added: “We have nearly 2,000 people on our housing waiting list. We have over a thousand families naming Whinfield as one of their preferences.

“We need more council housing and I will work to deliver on that – and that’s why we are exploring this site.”

Their victim was left with ‘devastating injuries’, including a slash from his forehead to his lip

A man was stabbed 17 times by three thugs wielding zombie knives in a daylight attack on a Cambridge home. Nathan Brown-Bonnett, Joel Farrow-Brown and Liam Cafferkey attacked their victim at this home in Drayton Road, Cambridge, just after 3pm on July 24, 2025.

The 45-year-old victim was stabbed 17 times, and a slash to his face from his forehead to lip. He also suffered a degloving wound to his right shoulder. The man had to undergo multiple blood transfusions and plastic surgery. A 41-year-old woman in the property also received a minor cut to her stomach.

CCTV from nearby properties captured the three suspects running from the scene. Cambridgeshire Police used this to identify the men. Appearing at Peterborough Crown Court on March 25, the trio, of no fixed addresses, were sentenced after previously pleading guilty to grievous bodily harm with intent. Farrow-Brown also pleaded guilty to eight counts of beating an emergency worker.

Brown-Bonnett, 46, was sentenced to eight years and one month in prison, Farrow-Brown, 27, to nine years and Cafferkey, 25, to seven years and two months.

Detective Constable Edward Mcauley, who investigated, said: “This was a shocking and completely unprovoked attack that left a man with devastating injuries. The level of violence used was extreme and there is absolutely no place for this kind of behaviour in our communities.

“Thanks to diligent investigative work, these three men have been brought to justice and will now spend a significant time behind bars. We hope this sentence provides reassurance to the public that we will relentlessly pursue those who carry knives and commit violent offences.”

A man is still being questioned by police after car rammed into a group of people on a night out in Derby over the weekend.

Seven people were treated at the scene and later taken to hospital with a range of serious but not life-threatening injuries, after they were hit by a black Suzuki Swift in Friar Gate on Saturday at about 9.30pm.

A 36-year-old Derby man, who is originally from India but has lived in the UK for a number of years, was arrested on suspicion of attempted murder, causing serious injury through dangerous driving, inflicting grievous bodily harm with intent, and dangerous driving, Derbyshire Police said.

Counter-terrorism police are assisting the investigation but police are keeping an open mind about potential motives they added. The incident is not currently being classed as terrorism.

CCTV footage obtained by the Daily Mail shows the moment a Suzuki Swift is seen racing down the road just moments after the incident, which left several people lying on the ground. 

A silver car can be seen making its way along the road at what appears to be a normal speed, before the black car shoots down the street a few moments later.

After the Suzuki Swift has passed, witnesses stand in the middle of the road to assess what has happened, before appearing to make their way down the street towards the scene of the attack. 

Blake Pierce, 21, who lives in the local area, was enjoying a night out with friends along Friars Gate when they heard ‘screaming.’

He told Metro: ‘We decided to change pubs and as we walked towards the road we started hearing screaming.

‘There were people spread out across the road and the adjacent pathway that led down.

‘We weren’t sure what to think and just froze. I could count about 6 people sprawled out pretty widespread across the area. This was all before the police showed up.’

He said bystanders rushed to help the injured before the emergency services arrived, adding that the police response time was ‘good.’

‘I’ve always found Derby to be a good night out, nothing really happens here from what I’ve experienced. It was a real shock to see something so graphic right in-front of you,’ he added.

Eren Celebi, who works at FG Express on Friar Gate, described scenes of chaos after the incident.

‘I didn’t see it exactly happen. I was serving some customers and I just heard a lot of screaming and shouting outside.

‘There was just a lot of people running about,’ the 23-year-old added.

Celebi said when he left the shop people were lying on the pavement and the main road.

‘There was like blood leaking from their head and stuff,’ he said. ‘I was a bit shocked.’

He said that some people went to check on victims, adding: ‘Some people were running into shops. Some people were just standing outside running about.’

Another man, who did not want to be named, told reporters the scene was ‘quite distressing’ and that there were ‘a lot of bloodied people’.

The man estimated that between 80 to 130 people were on the road after the incident.

He said: ‘There was a lot of ambulances, police at the scene as well – paramedics trying to get them the best possible care and it was just utter chaos.’

Chief Superintendent Emma Aldred, who leads policing in Derby, told a media briefing on Sunday that the suspected driver was arrested on the other side of the city centre seven minutes after the incident.

She said: ‘He was safely stopped in Station Approach, where the bridge crosses over towards Pride Park.

‘This swift action would not have been possible without eyewitnesses who contacted us about the vehicle’s whereabouts as it was driven away from the scene and around the city centre.’

She added that the police believe it is an isolated incident, and there is no wider risk to the public.

The Home Secretary is being kept updated on the incident, Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson has said.

Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk.

For more stories like this, check our news page.

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