A convoy of police cars has converged on a property in rural Victoria amid reports of a gunman firing shots.
Up to a dozen police cars have been spotted parked alongside a paddock in Dumbalk North, in the state’s southeast, in what has been described as an ‘ongoing situation’.
Early reports suggest Victorian police officers have become embroiled in a siege involving an active gunman at the rural property.
Worried locals took to social media to warn others passing through the area, which is about 160kms south-east of Melbourne in Victoria’s Gippsland region.
Police converge on the rural property where a siege is believed to be in progress
‘We have reports that shots have been fired. Due to the dynamic nature of the incident, we will provide further information when we can,’ a Victoria Police spokesperson said.
‘No police members have been injured.’
It is understood the incident began about 1.30pm on Thursday, with police soon called to attend.
‘There’s a gunman on the loose stay clear,’ one local warned.
‘We were waiting for the kids and an ambulance with lights and a police car following heading back towards gatha,’ another wrote, referencing the town of Leongatha.
Police are in the process of dealing with a suspected gunman in country Victoria
One local said Milford Road and Foster-Mirboo Roads were closed due to the ongoing drama.
Farmers Road in Dumbalk had also been closed at Meeniyan-Mirboo North Road, with no traffic being allowed past.
Others reported seeing the police helicopter headed to the scene.
‘When l was coming back from leongatha 2 x paramedic cars with lights & all heading that way,’ another witness claimed.
Gareth Train, his wife Stacey and his brother Nathaniel were fatally shot in this Queensland property after ambushing police
Constable Matthew Arnold (left, top and bottom) and Constable Rachel McCrow (right, top and bottom) were killed in a Queensland ambush
The incident has rekindled memories of a shocking attack on police in Queensland which saw two police officers shot dead in an ambush at a remote rural property.
Constables Matthew Arnold and Rachel McCrow were killed after arriving with two other officers at the Wieambilla property, west of Brisbane, in December 2022 attempting to serve an arrest warrant for Nathaniel Train.
Six hours later, Gareth Train, his wife Stacey and his brother Nathaniel were fatally shot by police Special Emergency Response Team members.
Unknowingly, the officers had walked into an elaborately staged trap where they, along with two other officers – Constables Keely Brough and Randall Kirk – were met with gunfire.
More to come.
