Unidentified gunman kills two in Ambon
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.