By NICHOLAS WILSON, NEWS REPORTER, AUSTRALIA and WAYNE FLOWER AND PAUL SHAPIRO and KARLEIGH SMITH - SENIOR REPORTER, AUSTRALIA and JONICA BRAY, SENIOR NEWS REPORTER, AUSTRALIA
A former The Bachelor star has given a first-hand account of her frightening experience in lockdown after a 'sovereign citizen' allegedly shot two cops.
Heather Maltman, 40, who appeared in season three of the hit show, was enjoying a 'nice day' in Mount Buffalo in north-east Victoria on Tuesday when she was forced to take cover from a rogue gunman.
Dezi Freeman, 56, is suspected of shooting two police officers dead and wounding one at a farm in Porepunkah in the foothills of Mount Buffalo about 10.30am.
The township, near the popular tourist town of Bright, was plunged into lockdown as police searched for the man, who is believed to be heavily armed and still remains at large.
Ms Maltman was among those swept up in the aftermath of the incident, having been forced to seek shelter to avoid crossing paths with the suspected killer, which she described as being effectively 'held hostage' for nearly six hours.
'It started out as a nice day in the mountains. And suddenly we, along with 30 other cars, are hostages in Mt Buffalo because (of) a piece of s* with a gun who decided to kill police officers,' she wrote on social media.
'After five to six hours of being hostage, praying the gunman does not find us, Matt and I decided to try be useful and located people needing help and started giving out our travel food'
The former reality star turned actress and radio host said she and partner, Matt Baker, made the decision to help others also enduring the anxious wait, rather than wallow in their plight.
'As police were inundated... rather than b* about getting us out of danger, we decided we were there for a reason and to care about someone else for a minute,' she said.
While sheltering, she and Mr Baker offered help to others including providing food and helping to get a car up-and-running.
'A cop asked us if we had jumpers, I said 'I'll go you one better. We have a battery starter',' she wrote.
'He laughed and said 'you're great to have a crisis'. I (thought) 'F* me. YOU are great to have in a crisis sir. You are!'
Ms Maltman shot to fame after competing on the 2015 series of The Bachelor and previously hosted SCA's Summer Radio Breakfast Show with Osher Gunsberg.
In the post, she said she was waiting to be reunited with her two pets, who remained at a caravan park 'across the road' the scene of the suspected shooting.
'THIS community has been rocked. But do not think they are broken,' she wrote.
'All I have seen today is resilience. Kindness. My friends messaged me during the whole thing (when reception permitted) to make sure I was safe.
'People like this will not break us. And I hope that is the legacy the people who lost lives know we hold true.'
Freeman, who was living in a bus with his family on the 20-hectare property, allegedly gunned down the officers as they entered the vehicle.
Police launched a widespread search surrounding the property in Victoria's alpine region.
'Straight-out execution,' a source told the Herald Sun before it was confirmed a 59-year-old detective and a 35-year-old Senior Constable were killed.
The 59-year-old was just days away from retirement while a third officer who was shot in the thigh is undergoing surgery at Alfred Hospital in Melbourne.
They were among a group of ten officers sent to execute a warrant at the Porepunkah property relating to historical sex abuse allegations.
Victoria state police chief commissioner Mike Bush said the seven other officers were physically unharmed but were left 'very traumatised'.
Freeman, who allegedly took firearms from the dead officers, is believed to be a member of the 'sovereign citizen' movement - a radical group that follows conspiracy theories and believes governments to be illegitimate.
Victoria Police told the Daily Mail Freeman's partner and children attended a police station on Tuesday evening.
The spokesperson added there was no reason to believe they were ever in the company of the suspect following the incident.
Scores of officers, including detectives from the Armed Crime Squad and Fugitive Squad, were deployed to search the rugged wilderness for Freeman.
As the search wears on into night, police have deployed a Leonardo AW139 helicopter equipped with an infrared camera capable of detecting thermal energy in the dark.
News of the shootings and the ongoing searches has drawn an outpouring of support from police, community members and politicians, including the Prime Minister.
The incident has revived memories of the 2022 Wieambilla shootings in rural Queensland where two police constables were killed by a family connected to the sovereign citizen movement.
Police have urged the public in and around Porepunkah to remain indoors until further notice as the search continues.