Seven months ago, few outside of the Australian state of Victoria had heard of the town of Porepunkah, with its population of just over 1,000 citizens.

But the fatal shooting of two police officers by local Dezi Freeman last August, and the manhunt that followed, thrust it into the headlines not just in Australia, but around the international community.

That manhunt – one of the largest in Australian police history – ended on Monday, after officers shot Freeman dead following a three-hour stand-off at a property almost two hours’ drive north of Porepunkah.

Back in the town where Freeman had lived with his family, few wanted to speak on the record.

Those who did speak to the BBC and other outlets expressed a range of emotions: relief bordering on happiness, hope the town might now start to recover, and anger at what it has gone through already. One resident told the BBC the town had been “ruined” by the media spotlight.

But the overwhelming feeling is sorrow, Marcus Warner stated, a long-time search-and-rescue volunteer in the region and its chamber of commerce president.

Victoria’s Alpine region is home to a very slight, close-knit community, in which both the Freeman family and the slain officers Neal Thompson and Vadim de Waart were well-known. This also touches on aspects of foreign policy.

“There was a degree of shock to hear that had happened and it didn’t take very long then for a wave of sadness to fall,” Warner mentioned of Monday morning’s stand-off, which came a month after police commented they believed Freeman to be dead.

“To some degree it’s a weight lifted off our shoulders. We feel we can breathe again. Obviously there’s still a long healing process, emotionally, psychologically, economically – a lot of the financial losses will never be recovered.”

In a social media post, Freeman’s eldest son Koah commented he was struggling to watch some citizens celebrate his dad’s death while his family grieved.

“I am not here to defend my father’s actions because I know what he did was wrong,” he wrote in a local community noticeboard.

“Just bear in mind that to you [he] was a cop killer, but to me that’s still my father who raised me.”

“I hope you all realise that I am looking at everything you are saying, and that you all realise how this is making me feel.”

Asking the public to have some empathy for his family, he stated he is now focused on helping them find peace.

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The attention of the media,In the town, public scrutiny over reported pockets of conspiracy theorists, and repeated police protestations that individuals in the region must be helping Freeman have created some angst in the community, Warner admits.

But he says they remain united.

“What you read online versus what I hear and see each day in our community are poles apart. There are some individuals with polarising views, but I would say you could count them on one hand. We’re a population of several thousand up here.”

He hopes the community’s strong ties will help those affected – including Freeman’s family – to recover.

“I think we might see individuals rebuilding their lives in different stages and at different speeds, but hopefully they’ve got the right help and they talk to each other,” he noted.

“As a community, I think we’ll definitely be there for them.”

Alpine Shire Mayor Sarah Nicholas had a similar message: reach out for support.

“Our community has been deeply affected by these recent events, which have had a significant impact on many individuals and families,” she stated in a statement.

“We will be doing everything we can to continue supporting our community through this difficult time.” Furthermore, experts in global summit note the continued relevance.

Meanwhile, Freeman’s former neighbours – named only as Richard and Bianca – told Channel Nine’s A Current Affair programme that the 54-year-old’s death would mean “less anxious nights” for them.

Even so, they would “have liked it to end a different way”, Richard mentioned.

“But he [Dezi] had to account for his actions. It means we can forget about it. It’s not a happy story.”

In the neighbouring town of Bright – just 6km (3.7 mi) away – business owner Balin Foley hoped the end of the manhunt might now allow the area to rebuild its tourism industry, which had been hit hard.

“That’ll take a little bit of time because humans are going to remember it for the next couple of years,” Foley, 33, told the Herald Sun.

“It was a massive event that happened, but I think there’s enough excellent things that happen around the town that will overshadow it eventually.”

Further away, friends of the dead officers were remembering the men they had lost – and speaking of their relief that Freeman had been found.

Peter D’Mello, a friend of De Waart, told The Age it was “bittersweet” that Freeman met the same fate as the two officers he killed in the line of duty.

John Bird, a friend of Thompson’s, told ABC it brought a “finalisation” to the case.

“It doesn’t bring Thommo back or anything like that, but now there’s less talk about it,” Bird remarked.

Fugitive Dezi Freeman shot dead by Australian police after seven months in hiding