Armed Motorcycle Thieves Fire Shots After Being Caught in Tangerang

An act of motorcycle theft has occurred again in the Pondok Bahar housing complex, Karang Tengah sub-district, Tangerang City, Banten. Two perpetrators fired shots into the air when their actions were discovered by the vehicle owner on Wednesday (25/2) evening.

The incident occurred when the housing complex was bustling with residents looking for food for the Iftar meal.

Based on CCTV footage from one of the residents’ homes, two men were seen pushing the victim’s motorcycle. However, the motorcycle owner noticed the act and immediately shouted at the perpetrators, calling them thieves.

One of the perpetrators then quickly left the motorcycle they had been pushing. The victim then tried to chase them and kicked one of the perpetrators.

During the chase, the other perpetrator pointed a firearm at the victim and fired two shots into the air. Feeling threatened, the victim stopped the chase and chose to save his motorcycle, which the perpetrators failed to steal.

The victim, Eko, said the incident occurred when he was about to leave the house to look for Iftar meals on Thursday (26/2).

“Initially, I was going to the front of the warehouse, coincidentally it was the time when people were looking for Iftar meals. I saw my motorcycle being pushed. I spontaneously shouted ‘thief’,” said Eko.

He said the perpetrators had fired a firearm into the air while he was chasing them.

“Before reaching 50 meters, the person driving the motorcycle shot into the air. I chased them again for about 20 meters, and he shot again because I was still chasing,” he said.

According to Eko, a similar incident had occurred about two months ago in the same area, where the perpetrators fired shots while being chased by residents.

He added that the perpetrators looked neat, making it difficult to identify them as criminals.

“They looked neat, so we couldn’t tell if they were thieves or not, they looked like they were just visiting a friend’s house,” he said.

This incident marks the second time in the past two months that motorcycle thieves have fired shots into the air in the Pondok Bahar housing complex.

This situation has made residents uneasy, especially during the holy month of Ramadan.

Residents hope that the police will increase routine patrols in the residential area to prevent similar criminal acts from happening again.