Monash Freeway shooting: man shot dead by Victoria police in Melbourne
Police have shot dead a “distressed” man who they said was armed with a knife on the Monash Freeway in Melbourne.
Assistant Commissioner Bob Hill said police had attempted to negotiate with the 53-year-old man from Narre Warren who was said to be having“amen tal health episode ”, after arriving at the scene about 9.30am.
“Victoria police received a call that there was a di stressed male on the side of the Monash Free way ,” Hill said .“There was certainly some agitation on behalf of the male. We tried to negotiate with the male. We tried to actually calm the male down. At a point during that course of negotiation, the male has produced a knife and advanced on the police members.
“It was during that encounter that, firstly, our police attempted a t ac tic al withdrawal. At that point in time, the male continued the advance. There was then a non-lethal force used upon the male to stop him advancing. That wasunsu cc essful. Then the police resorted to l et hal force, a semi-auto firearm was then discharged. The members hot that male in the chest. We believe at least two shots were fired. As a consequence, that male has died on the side of the road.”
Hill said one police officer was slightly injured in the “later stages of engagement”.
Body-worn police camera, highway cameras and dashcam footage would be used to establish the exact series of events as part of an “intense investigation” involving the police homicide squad, professional standards command, the independent broad-based anti-corruption commission and the coroner.
“Victoria police can learn and improve with how we actually deal with t he se situations in the future,” Hill said.
“[The five members involved] have all now been separated. They’ ve g one back to a police premises here. The members will be subject to drug and alcohol testing. They will be interviewed by the homicide squad.”
Hill said the man who was shot was known to police but this contact had been limited.
The shooting occurred on an onramp of the freeway in North Dandenong. Aerial footage showed a body on the road and multiple police vehicles and paramedics present, with a section of the freeway taped off.
All city-bound lanes of the Monash Freeway were closed at Heatherton Road near Eastlink, with cars and trucks potentially trapped for hours.
The Police Association secretary,
Wayne Gatt said police acted in self-defence.
“We understand our members have been involved in a shooting incident earlier today,” he said.
“Our understanding is that members have acted in self-defence, operating in an extremely dangerous environment.”
The Department of Transport urged motorists to leave the freeway as soon as they could.
“The scene is under the control of Victoria police. The Monash Freeway will open as soon as it is safe to do so,” the department said in a statement.