Victoria Police is searching for a 48-year-old man after three family members were left in a critical condition following an alleged axe attack at a home in the Gippsland town of Tyers on Saturday. An arrest warrant was issued on Sunday for Peter O’Ryan, whose last known location was the family property, police said.
What police allege happened #
Victoria Police said in a statement that officers were called to a Tyers home on Saturday following reports of a family disturbance. Police allege an argument took place between family members before a man armed with an axe or tomahawk attacked his brother and both parents at the property.
All three victims were treated at the scene before being taken to hospital, where police said they remained in a critical condition. Victoria Police has not released further detail on the nature of their injuries, citing the ongoing investigation and the privacy of the family.
Police allege O’Ryan left the property before officers arrived and has not been located since. Victoria Police said in a statement that his exact whereabouts were unknown and that he should be considered a priority for public reporting if sighted.
The search for Peter O’Ryan #
An arrest warrant for O’Ryan was issued by police on Sunday. Victoria Police has described him as 48 years old, with his last known location being the family home in Tyers, a small town near Traralgon in the Latrobe Valley, roughly 160 kilometres east of Melbourne.
Police have urged residents in the Tyers and wider Latrobe Valley area to remain vigilant and to avoid approaching O’Ryan if he is sighted. Victoria Police said anyone with information about his location should contact triple zero immediately rather than approach him directly.
Detectives from Victoria Police’s homicide squad or local crime investigation units are understood to be assisting local police with the search, though Victoria Police has not confirmed which specialist units have carried conduct of the investigation. VCN has sought further comment from Victoria Police on the current status of the search.
A community shaken #
Tyers is a small rural community of a few hundred residents, and incidents of this scale are rare in the area. Victoria Police said local patrols had been increased in the immediate aftermath of the alleged attack as part of the search effort.
VCN understands the property where the alleged attack occurred is a long-held family home. We have not sought to identify the victims and will not do so while the investigation is ongoing and their conditions remain critical.
Sources close to the investigation have told VCN that police believe the incident was contained to the family and that there is no suggestion of any ongoing risk to the broader public beyond the search for O’Ryan himself. This has not been independently verified beyond what Victoria Police has stated publicly.
What happens next #
No charges have yet been laid, as O’Ryan is yet to be located. Should he be found, police will allege the circumstances outlined in their statement, and any charges will be determined following further investigation. He is presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law, and no plea has been entered on any matter at this stage.
Victoria Police has asked anyone with information about O’Ryan’s location, or anyone who believes they may have sighted him since Saturday, to contact Crime Stoppers or triple zero. Investigations of this nature typically involve coordination between local CIU detectives, forensic services and, where a firearm or weapon is involved, specialist search teams.
VCN will continue to follow this story and provide updates as Victoria Police releases further information. Readers can follow our crime section for ongoing coverage of this and related matters in Gippsland and across regional Victoria.
Understanding family violence in regional Victoria #
Incidents involving family members are among the most confronting cases police and courts deal with, and Gippsland has not been immune to broader patterns of family violence seen across regional Victoria. Support services exist for families affected by conflict or violence in the home, and VCN would encourage anyone experiencing distress or fear within their own family to reach out for help before a situation escalates.
This masthead has previously reported on the strain placed on regional police resources when responding to family violence callouts across the Latrobe Valley and wider Gippsland region, an issue frequently raised in Victorian parliamentary and coronial proceedings.
The matter is currently before police investigation and no charges have yet been laid. All persons are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
If you or someone you know needs support, help is available:
- Lifeline: 13 11 14
- 1800RESPECT: 1800 737 732
- Safe Steps Family Violence Response Centre: 1800 015 188
- Beyond Blue: 1300 22 4636
- 13YARN (Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander crisis support): 13 92 76
- Crime Stoppers: 1800 333 000
