Accused police killer Dezi Freeman has been shot dead by officers after months on the run.

Freeman was reportedly fatally shot after being found at a rural property in north-eastern Victoria early on Monday.

The 56-year-old was apparently hiding in a shipping container near the small north-east Victorian town of Porepunkah.

He was close to his home, where police officers Neal Thompson and Vadim de Waart-Hottart were shot dead when they were among a team who went to serve a warrant in late August.

Victoria Police confirmed a fatal shooting at a rural property shortly after 8.30am on Monday.

“No police officers were injured during the incident,” they said.

“The state coroner will attend the scene and the investigation will be oversighted by Professional Standards Command, as per standard process for a police shooting.

“Further information will be released today as the situation develops.”

A police media briefing is due at 11am (AEDT) on Monday.

Freeman had been on the run since the August shootings, despite hundreds of police spending weeks after the killings searching for him in the dense bushland surrounding the town.

In December, investigators said they had shifted their search efforts to locating the body of the self-described “sovereign citizen”. However, a five-day effort to scour the bush with cadaver dogs and drones yielded nothing.

Thompson, 59, was just a week away from retiring, while de Waart-Hottart, 34, was on temporary assignment to the area.

Victoria Police offered a $1 million reward and the possibility of indemnity for information leading to Freeman’s capture. It is the largest financial offer in the state’s history for facilitating an arrest.

Freeman’s wife Mali, who police have confirmed was present during the fatal shootings, and a 15-year-old boy were previously arrested but released without charge.

-more to come