A man has been arrested after a six-hour siege in Bendigo which saw scores of police descend on a residential area, plunging local families into chaos.
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The man was taken into custody about 6.30pm after heavily armed critical incident response police stormed the Howard Street home he was holed up in.
A woman believed to be the man's mother was taken beyond police roadblocks before 5pm as the siege with the person, who was believed to be armed, dragged on.
The siege lasted six hours on Monday as police try to negotiate with the man barricaded inside a property in the suburb of Jackass Flat.
Police, including the dog squad, had been at the property since just after midday on Tuesday, causing huge traffic delays in the area.
Police installed a tyre deflation device across nearby Evergreen Boulevard but removed it about 2pm as the siege dragged on.
In footage taken earlier by a local resident, a police negotiator can be heard telling the man over a loud hailer to walk out the front door with nothing in his hands.
"The house is completely surrounded. It's all over, mate. Just come out the front door.
"No one's going to hurt you if you come out the front door with nothing in your hands."
Officers believe the man is connected to two manhunts across Bendigo over the past week.
Dozens of officers scoured bushland last week after a man they believed to be armed crashed into a power pole in Eaglehawk North and fled the scene.
Police said they knew the identity of the man, who had previously had access to firearms.
A three-day effort to locate the man, who was described as being in his mid-20s, Caucasian and with facial tattoos, was unsuccessful.
Some traffic chaos on Howard Street with police blocking traffic. pic.twitter.com/0OTSa0i3Ja??? Bendigo Advertiser (@BgoAddy) March 28, 2017
On Monday the operation took another turn when police spotted a man running from a stolen silver Ford Focus in central Bendigo about 1.30pm.
Officers urged members of the public to avoid the man, who they believed to be armed, and a large cordon area was established on Honeysuckle and High streets.
Police were seen stationed in the area until just before 6pm, with several marked and unmarked cars outside Girton Grammar School, near where the man was last seen.
With Bendigo Advertiser
