Police have shot dead a fugitive gunman, ending a dramatic three-day manhunt across two states that involved kidnapping, robbery and assault of members of the public.

Officers cornered wanted man Stanley Turvey, who was armed with a weapon, at a house in Ardmona in north-east Victoria on Wednesday morning.

Special Operations Group shot him and first aid was provided before paramedics declared him dead at the scene.

Turvey, who has a tattoo of a grenade on his left cheek, had been on the run since Monday when police attempted to arrest him at a property in Katandra West.

Acting Assistant Commissioner Karen Nyholm said at that time officers were confronted with Turvey brandishing a firearm which he shot into the air.

As police retreated, Turvey fled the scene in a vehicle. Officers initiated a pursuit but their car lost control and rolled on a country road, leaving two officers with minor injuries.

While on the run, Turvey stopped at a random home in the nearby town of Youanmite where police say he took a man hostage at gunpoint and forced him to drive to Finley across the NSW border and released him.

Around midday on Tuesday, police say Turvey assaulted a woman while armed with a gun at Yarrawonga, Victoria, and stole a white Toyota HiLux.

On Wednesday morning police intelligence led to the address in Ardmona where residents had been “involved in a matter with Stanley Turvey and at that time, he produced a firearm”.

“Not going to go into the details of what actually occurred at that location because that’s part of the coronial investigation that will now take place but you can conclude the police have…taken action that is required to shoot Stanley Turvey and unfortunately, he is now deceased,” said Nyholm.

“Police were presented with a threat and, as a result of that, have taken some action.

“We wanted to take him into safe custody but it’s fair to say we needed to do what it is to protect the public, protect ourselves in that situation.”

Additional police from Melbourne and NSW were deployed to northwest Victoria to track down Turvey.

Victoria Police would turn its focus to supporting Turvey’s victims and the officers involved in the manhunt, Nyholm said.

“I would like to take this opportunity to thank the members of the public throughout the north-east of Victoria and New South Wales who have been subject to some of the criminal activity of Stanley Turvey over the past 48 hours,” she said.

“I’d like to acknowledge the impact on those communities both the individual victims that were involved, the witnesses that witnessed what took place, and the broader community.”