Indonesian police hunt suspects in Jayawijaya shooting

Jayapura, Papua (ANTARA) - The Damai Cartenz Operations Task Force has identified characteristics of suspected killers of three civil servants from the Jayawijaya Agriculture Agency in Indonesia’s Papua region, an official said.“The suspects’ characteristics have been identified, and they are now being pursued,” the task force's spokesman, Commissioner Yusuf Sutejo, said in Jayapura, the capital of Papua Province, on Friday.

The shooting occurred on Wednesday, September 9, as an Agriculture Agency convoy returned after distributing food aid to Kimbim Village in Asologaima Sub-district, he said.

The armed group ambushed the convoy in Muliama Sub-district and shot three civil servants, killing all three, Sutejo said.

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Investigators found three shell casings at the scene: two measuring 5.56 millimeters, used in long-barreled firearms, and one 9-millimeter casing, believed to have come from a handgun.

Witnesses said eight attackers were involved, two of whom carried long-barreled firearms, according to the investigation.

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“The pursuit of the armed group responsible for the shooting is continuing, along with law enforcement efforts,” Sutejo said.

The three victims were Aprida Rapi, 49; Alfonsius Albinus Meha, 35; and Willi Mbuik, 25, all employees of the Jayawijaya Agriculture Agency.