Soldier murders two civillians, kills himself
Nani Farida, The Jakarta Post, Banda Aceh, Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam
A soldier from East Java apparently just snapped on Sunday night and shot several civilians in Takengon market in Central Aceh, killing two people and injuring four.
After shooting indiscriminately into the crowded market, Chief Pvt. Kurniawan, who was sent to fight in Aceh several months ago, then turned the gun on himself.
The tragedy began when Kurniawan, a member of an intelligence unit in the Indonesian Military (TNI), was having a drink in a coffee shop in the market.
After finishing his drink, he suddenly got up and shot two of the employees with his gun, which killed them on the spot. The victims were Mulyadi, 25 and Maimunah, 28.
Kurniawan, a member of the Intelligence Task Force (SGI), a joint military-police intelligence unit, left the coffee shop after the killing, and he shot randomly at a car and other passersby in the market, which is located in the heart of Takengon.
As a result, four people were seriously injured after the shooting spree. They were Sarmudji, 18, Gempar Ariyanto, 30, Marwan, 60 and Rosmiyati, 25. They are currently being treated at the Datu Beru hospital in Takengon.
According to witness accounts, after the six people fell to the ground, suddenly Kurniawan shot himself in the head.
Chief of the Central Aceh military command Lt. Col. Yakraman Yagus confirmed the shooting. "We, on behalf of the TNI, apologize for the incident," he said.
He claimed that Kurniawan had been suffering from malaria for a long time. He speculated that the disease had recurred on Sunday night, which was why Kurniawan had lost it.
Separately, the spokesman of the TNI's Operational Command in Aceh, Lt. Col. Asep Sapari, said that the TNI was investigating the case.
The remains of the civilian victims have been buried, while the remains of the soldier have been handed over to his family in East Java for burial.
The suicide incident was the first case reported to the media since the TNI began the massive military offensive against the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) in May last year.
However, the killing spree was the second case reported to the media in Indonesia. In 1996, an officer with the Army's Special Forces (Kopassus) killed 16 people, five of them civilians, in a shooting spree at the Timika airport in Papua province. The officer, the 37-year-old Second. Lt. Sanurip, was sentenced to death a year later, but won his appeal.
In the previous trial session in Jayapura, Sanurip's defense lawyers said he had too much stress after spending months in the Papuan jungles. Earlier reports also said Sanurip was afflicted by malaria.