A civilian and two thieves were killed in a shootout between police officers and a gang of robbers near the Sudirman overpass in Tangerang municipality Thursday morning.
Tangerang Metro Police detective chief Comr. Budhi Herdi Susanto said the civilian, Gatot Raharjo, died when a Kijang minivan carrying the gang hit his motorcycle on the street.
"Officers shot Ujang, who was driving the minivan. The minivan crossed the road's median strip and hit the motorcycle," Budi said.
The resident of West Semper, North Jakarta, died on the scene, he said.
Budi said the officers started chasing the gang after they stole the minivan from an empty house in Pesanggrahan, South Jakarta, at about 2 a.m.
The officers, on motorcycles, chased the gang until Cileduk, where they lost the minivan.
Budi said police were informed the gang members had stolen Rp 780,000 (US$83) in cash and two cellular phones from a soybean store in Cileduk.
"CCTVs installed at the store recorded and identified the gang members before they turned it off," he said.
The gang then also tried to break into a travel agency office on Jl. Boulevard Graha Raya Regency, in Kunciran district, Tangerang municipality.
The two officers recognized the minivan around Usadi Insani Hospital in Cipondoh and tried to chase the car.
"Since it was difficult to stop the car, the two officers produced warning shots. The gang members replied with repeated shots," Budhi said.
One of the shots killed Ujang, the driver, bringing the mininvan to a halt and hitting Gatot's motorcycle.
After the minivan stopped, officers shot two other gang members, identified as Lukman and Imron, who were trying to escape.
Lukman died but Imron managed to escape using a motorcycle belonging to a local resident.
Two other members of the gang identified as Erik, 20, and Asmin, 45, finally surrendered after being shot in the back by officers.
Officers seized a gun, eight bullets, two cellular phones, a crow bar and a T-bar from the thieves.
"The gang members are all former inmates of the Cirebon penitentiary and they were targeting empty houses and buildings," Budhi said.
Boy Iskandar, an eye witness at the shootout scene, said he was having breakfast when he heard the repeated shots.
"I thought it was just the sound of a car breaking down because the shots sounded just like a tire blowing up. But when I looked out, I saw two men trying to escape from the car," he said.
"I also saw the car hit a passing motorcycle. Then the dead rider's body was wedged between the car and his motorcycle," he said.
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