Unidentified gunman kills two in Ambon
Octavianus Pinontoan and M. Azis Tunny, The Jakarta Post/Ambon
Two people were killed and two others injured after an unidentified assailant sprayed bullets from a speedboat at a karaoke club in Hative Besar subdistrict, Ambon city, at dawn on Tuesday.
The shooting came only a week after a shooting incident in Leksula waters, Buru regency that injured two people.
The two people killed in the karaoke club shooting were Ratnawati, 22, an employee at the Villa Cafe karaoke club and Yondry Puturuhu, 22, a guest of the club who lived in Tanah Tinggi area in Ambon. The two people injured were Kao and Ling, both owners of the karaoke club, according to Ambon and Lease Islands Police chief Adj. Sr. Comr. Leonidas Braksan.
Ratnawati, Yondry and Kao, who were seriously injured in the shooting, were rushed to a Navy hospital but only Kao survived.
After initial treatment, Kao was transferred to Haulussy Hospital later on Tuesday morning in Ambon for further medical treatment.
Witnesses said that an unidentified assailant shot at the karaoke club from a speedboat near the club.
Joy A, 30, a witness, recalled that when the shooting happened, guests were singing inside the karaoke club, which is located only some 30 meters from the beach.
Upon hearing gunfire, Joy said the people in the club ran to safety.
A security personnel, who was in the club compound, shot back at the unknown assailant, which prompted the latter to drive the speedboat away from the beach area.
The government and security personnel have yet to uncover the motive behind the incident, but Maluku Governor Karel Albert Rahalalu, Maluku provincial military command chief Maj. Gen. Syarifuddin Sumah and Maluku Police chief Brig. Gen. Adityawarman visited the area hours after the shooting.
The club is located near a beach, some 25 kilometers west of Ambon city. The Maluku Governor expressed concern over the incident, saying that it might trigger another conflict in the province.
Sectarian conflicts broke out in Maluku between 1999 and 2002, claiming thousands of lives and forcing thousands of Maluku residents to flee the area.
The conflict has subsided since a government-brokered peace pact in 2002, but random attacks still happen.
Despite the shooting, the situation in Ambon city was normal.
Separately, deputy chief of Maluku Legislative Council John Mailoa ordered the Maluku governor to issue a shoot on sight order. "The order will serve as deterrent so that the shooters will not have the courage to operate in Ambon anymore," said John.