By Alex Crowe and Hanna Mills Turbet
A fugitive gunman has been shot dead by police at a home in Victoria’s north after a three-day pursuit across two states.
Stanley Turvey was killed at the property in Ardmona, west of Shepparton, on Wednesday morning as police attempted to apprehend him.
Police have shot dead fugitive Stanley Turvey.
Police went to the home about 10.15am, acting on information that Turvey was at the property.
Victoria Police eastern region’s acting Assistant Commissioner, Karen Nyholm, said members of the Special Operations Group were confronted by an armed Turvey as they approached the house.
Nyholm said Turvey was shot and killed despite attempts to apprehend him safely.
“As a result of intelligence, police attended an address at Ardmona. Police have taken action that’s required to shoot Stanley Turvey and, unfortunately, he is now deceased,” she said.
Nyholm said a second individual at the property was not injured during the incident. The relationship between Turvey and that person is unknown.
Nyholm said police had prioritised the safety of the public and their officers.
“Police were presented with a threat and as a result of that have taken some action,” she said.
“This is not the outcome that we would have wanted today. We wanted to take him into safe custody.”
The Special Operations Group at an Ardmona property on Wednesday morning.Credit: Nine
Police had been pursuing Turvey since Monday after he resisted arrest at a property in Katandra West, near Shepparton. Police had visited the property over a firearm prohibition order.
Turvey reportedly approached the officers and fired a gun into the air before fleeing the property in a vehicle.
Police followed Turvey but lost control of their vehicle and rolled on a country road. Two officers suffered minor injuries.
Turvey then stopped at a house in the nearby town of Youanmite, where police say he forced a man to drive him north to Finley across the NSW border. The driver was released uninjured, police said.
Homicide squad detectives will investigate the police shooting.Credit: Nine News
Police said a stolen white Toyota HiLux that Turvey was driving was recovered on Tuesday afternoon in Fraser Street at Tatura, south-west of Shepparton.
“We allege that he was involved in an armed robbery and took a further stolen vehicle,” Nyholm said.
Nyholm said the operation had affected several small communities and multiple witnesses in Victoria and NSW.
She offered her sympathies to members of the public and police officers who had been affected, as well as members of Turvey’s family who would have been “traumatised” by his death in such circumstances.
“It’s fair to say that there’s been a lot of police involved and, in relation to the public, we really appreciate the assistance that the public have provided to us in assisting us in this investigation,” she said.
The homicide squad will investigate Turvey’s shooting and the state coroner was notified on Wednesday.
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