Police claim that urban gunfire was rifle practice

Police claim that urban gunfire was rifle practice

JAKARTA (JP): There was no motive in last week's mysterious gun attack on two buildings in Central Jakarta, according to City Police Chief Maj. Gen. Dibyo Widodo.

"The gunshots were fired at the two buildings unintentionally," Dibyo said on Saturday.

The shooter was merely trying out a hunting rifle which he had stolen from a house in Cirebon, West Java, on Oct. 12, Dibyo said after attending a massive police drill on the handling of protesters.

According to Dibyo, Prabowo fired the shots randomly from a vacant plot on Jl. Teluk Betung on Sunday morning.

In the shooting incident on Sunday morning last week, bullets entered two rooms at different floors of a five-star hotel on Jl. Karet Pasar Baru and an office on the 27th floor of the Bank Bumi Daya tower on Jl. Imam Bonjol.

The incident caused rumors that the shots were connected with the wedding reception of a movie star and a corporate executive at the hotel on Sunday evening last week.

In what is apparently an amazing coincidence, the office of the bride is on the 23rd floor of the bank tower which was also fired upon.

The shooter, who is in police custody, has been identified as Prabowo, formerly a low-ranking marine.

Under Indonesian law, theft of a firearm or illegal possession of such a weapon is punishable with death.

Two associates of Prabowo, currently under interrogation by military police, are active members of the Armed Forces. The two may be yet be charged with illegal possession of the gun and a number of bullets.

The two men, also marines of low rank, have been identified as Bambang Setiono and Kasan.

City Military Commander Maj. Gen. Wiranto said on Friday that the two will face a military tribunal if considered guilty. (bsr)