Murder suicide incident in Ambon

AMBON, Maluku: After weeks of tense calm here, a fatal incident, involving members of the Armed VIII unit of the Army Strategic Reserves Command (Kostrad), resulted in the deaths of three soldiers on Saturday, one of the victims being the attacker who committed suicide after his unexplained violent behavior.

Pattimura Military Command chief of staff Col. Syarifuddin Sumah revealed that a soldier who survived the melee, Pvt. Mujiono, was being treated at Latumeten Army Hospital in Ambon.

"It's hard to find out what really happened during the fatal shooting incident as three main witnesses in this case are dead," Syarifuddin said.

The shooting reportedly took place at Kostrad's Armed VIII liaison office which is located at the 733/Masariku Battalion Headquarters on Jl. Slamet Riyadi in downtown Ambon.

Kostrad's Armed VIII troopers have been deployed in the Seram islands.

It was reported that the shooting occurred at around 12:15 p.m. local time Saturday, when Pvt. Sunarto suddenly opened fire and killed two soldiers; his commander Second Lt. (Inf) Sugiyono and Chief Sgt. Nurkalim.

Another soldier who walked into the office, Pvt. Mujiono, was shot in the leg. He managed to flee the sudden assault by jumping out of the window, officer Syarifuddin revealed.

About one-and-a-half hours after the shooting Syarifuddin led a team of military personnel to storm the office and prevent Pvt. Sunarto from doing further harm.

"But when we checked the site of the incident, it was quiet and Sunarto was already found dead. We suspect that he committed suicide by shooting himself," Syarifuddin said. (49/edt)