Revealed: Klitih Perpetrators Armed with Airsoft Guns Terrorising Yogyakarta Residents
A series of mysterious shootings using airsoft guns has occurred in Yogyakarta, with several motorcyclists becoming victims. Although not fatal, these mysterious shootings have unsettled residents, particularly those who go out at night. The phenomenon also attracted the attention of detikJogja readers over the past week.
The first incident took place in Sleman, specifically in the Maguwoharjo area, on Sunday (2/8). A motorcyclist was cornered by a perpetrator who fired ball bearings. When asked for confirmation, the Head of Public Relations of Sleman Police, First Inspector Argo Anggoro, confirmed the street crime that occurred on Jalan Laksda Adisucipto, Maguwoharjo, Depok, Sleman, in the early hours of around 02.00 WIB. According to him, the victim had filed a report with the East Depok Police.
“The victim has the initials AARP (17), male, a student, a resident of South Tangerang, who was travelling from Solo to Yogyakarta with a friend at the time of the incident,” said Argo when contacted.
Argo explained that the chronology began when the victim, who was returning to Yogyakarta from Solo, was suddenly cornered by two suspected perpetrators riding pillion. One of the perpetrators then drew an airsoft gun.
“When passing the location, the victim was allegedly cornered by two people riding pillion on a black Honda PCX motorcycle. One of the suspected perpetrators was said to be wearing a green online motorcycle taxi jacket and carrying a sharp weapon resembling a sickle and an airsoft gun,” he explained.
“The suspected perpetrator then allegedly fired the airsoft gun, hitting the victim’s back and causing injury. The victim subsequently received medical treatment and reported the incident to the East Depok Police,” Argo added.
A few days later, the incident was repeated. This time the shooting occurred in Banguntapan, Bantul. The victim recounted the incident through social media.
“Good morning, I would like to share a story. Around 1 a.m., my husband was about to return home. He passed through the Block 0 intersection, and there he experienced something undesirable. He was suddenly shot with an airsoft gun twice in the back and right thigh. I kindly ask for this experience to be shared so that people can be more vigilant when going out at night. It turns out that now it is not only klitih that is very disturbing. That is all, thank you,” said the Instagram account @merapi_uncover as seen by detikJogja.
The Head of Public Relations of Bantul Police, First Inspector Rita Hidayanto, said that she was aware of the incident. However, to date no report has been filed by the victim with the police.
“To date, there has been no report regarding the airsoft gun shooting incident that went viral on social media,” she said when contacted by detikJogja on Wednesday (5/8/2026).
Police have arrested one of four perpetrators of the airsoft gun shooting on Jalan Laksda Adisucipto, Maguwoharjo, Depok, Sleman, on Sunday (27/8). The arrested perpetrator, with the initials IRS (27), was the executor or the shooter.
The Head of Criminal Investigation Unit of Sleman Police, Second Police Inspector Kiswanto, said the perpetrator was arrested on Saturday (22/8) in the Maguwoharjo area, Depok, Sleman.
“The perpetrator (with the initials) IRS, aged 27, male, a student, with an address in Maguwoharjo, Depok, Sleman,” Kiswanto explained during a press conference at Sleman Police Headquarters on Thursday (27/8).
According to the perpetrator’s confession, Kiswanto said, the motive for the act was due to family problems.
“The temporary motive we know so far is from the one who has been caught. There are family problems. He dropped out of university,” Kiswanto explained.
When carrying out the act, the perpetrator selected victims randomly, similar to klitih. They had no personal issues with the victims.
The Head of Criminal Investigation Unit of Sleman Police, Second Police Inspector Kiswanto, said there were four perpetrators in this case, with IRS being one of them. IRS himself acted as the executor.
“The victims were random; he had no problem with those people. He fired six times according to his confession, and three shots hit the back,” Kiswanto explained during the press conference at Sleman Police Headquarters on Thursday (27/8).
The airsoft gun used by IRS, Kiswanto said, belonged to one of the perpetrators who had not yet been arrested.
“The airsoft gun does not belong to the perpetrator, but to one of his friends who has not been caught,” he revealed.
Police are continuing to hunt for the other three perpetrators to investigate the real motive. There is a suspicion that the perpetrators deliberately carried out these acts and intentionally recorded them.
“The one we arrested is the shooter. The roles of the other perpetrators include carrying a sharp weapon resembling a sickle, acting as the rider, and recording the video. It is possible they deliberately created content to show to their friends,” he explained.