Sydney, Aug 26
Two police officers have been killed and a third has been injured in a shooting in southeast Australia, local media reported on Tuesday.
The three officers were at the rural property in the town of Porepunkah, 210 km northeast of Melbourne in the Alpine region of the state of Victoria, on Tuesday morning to execute a warrant related to historical sexual abuse allegations when they were ambushed and shot by a gunman, News Agency reported.
Two police officers, who Victoria Police initially said were unaccounted for following the attack, were killed and the third was airlifted to hospital with serious lower body injuries, according to News.
As of 4:30 pm local time on Tuesday a widespread police search for the gunman was ongoing. Nine Entertainment newspapers reported that he was on the run with several family members, including children.
Facilities including nearby schools and a local airfield were put in lockdown for most of Tuesday and members of the public were advised to avoid the area as a major police operation was launched in response to the shooting.