Female reverend shot dead in Palu

Female reverend shot dead in Palu

Irvan NR, Palu

An unknown assailant shot dead a female reverend on Sunday night
during a sermon at Effata Church in the Central Sulawesi capital
of Palu, some four hours away from the restive regency of Poso.

Susianti Tinulele, the 29-year-old reverend, was shot dead
while delivering a sermon. The unknown assailant showered bullets
on dozens of churchgoers, seriously injuring four of them.

Adj. Sr. Comr. Victor Batara, the Central Sulawesi Police's
spokesman, said that the shooting began at 7 p.m, when a man
suddenly entered the church on Jl. Banteng here and shot at
Susianti. Another version said that there were two assailants,
one stayed outside the church to hold a security guard, while the
other entered the church and showered bullets on the reverend and
her congregation.

The man quickly fled the scene after the incident, leaving the
people in panic.

Sunday's shooting followed a bombing and two separate murders
in Poso regency on Friday and Saturday.

Susianti was the second reverend shot dead in Central Sulawesi
in the past four months. Another reverend, Freddy Wuisan, was
shot dead in Membuke, Poso regency in March this year. Two weeks
after Freddy's murder, two unknown assailants showered bullets on
churchgoers attending an Easter sermon at the Tabernacle Church
in the religiously divided regency of Poso. Seven people were
injured.