A police officer lost his life during an incident on a rural property in Senior, near Bordertown, South Australia, overnight.
The incident unfolded around 11:20 pm on Thursday when South Australia Police responded to an earlier disturbance at the location.
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According to police reports, officers were investigating the disturbance when they were “confronted by an armed suspect” on the property, situated in the state’s southeast, near the Victorian border.
The shooting left three individuals, including two officers, with gunshot wounds.
“One of the responding police officers sustained fatal gunshot wounds and despite the efforts of his colleagues and paramedics sadly died at the scene,” police said.
The alleged suspect, who was armed, sustained severe life-threatening injuries after being shot by the police.
Emergency medical care was administered at the scene before he was airlifted to Adelaide, where he is currently under police guard.
A second officer, who received non-life-threatening gunshot wounds, was also rushed to Adelaide for medical treatment.
A third officer at the scene was unharmed and able to assist.
Major Crime detectives, along with members of the Forensic Response and Internal Investigation sections, are now en route to the property to conduct a thorough investigation into the tragic incident.
South Australia’s Police Commissioner, Grant Stevens, is currently at Bordertown and is expected to address the media later today.
Senior Constable Gen Cullinan, in a statement to ABC Radio Adelaide, said: “We were called to that address to reports of an incident. At this stage, we won’t go into the reasons as to why we were there.”
“The commissioner [Grant Stevens] has made his way to Bordertown together with Major Crime detectives, and they will be attending and assessing the scene and speaking with, obviously, our colleagues in the communities there.”
Authorities are assuring the community that there is no further threat to public safety.
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