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span class="inline inline-left">Tragic loss: Adel (left) and Shanti pay homage at the morgue of Cipto Mangunkusumo Hospital, Jakarta, to their fellow transsexual and AIDS activist Shakira who was fatally shot by unidentifi ed assailants at Taman Lawang in Central Jakarta at dawn Thursday.JP/Wendra AjistyatamaA transsexual activist was killed when two assailants fired shots at a group of transsexuals gathered in Taman Lawang, Central Jakarta, early Thursday.

Faizal “Shakira” Harahap, an activist from the LGBT coalition Arus Pelangi, died from a bullet wound to her chest while her two friends Agus “Venus” Yuliaman and Tantan “Astrid” Setianugraha were injured.

“The shooting occurred at 4 a.m.. One of the victims, Shakira, died en route to hospital. There doesn’t seem to be a reason for the shooting,” Shakira’s colleague at Arus Pelangi, Widodo Budidarmo, who witnessed the incident, said.

Venus, who was hit in the chest, and Astrid, who was hit in the hand and waist, were taken to Cipto Mangunkusumo Hospital (RSCM).

Later on Thursday, the Jakarta Police said they had a description of the assailants.

“The shooter was a short, fat and dark-skinned male wearing a cap,” Jakarta Police spokesman Sr. Comr. Baharudin Djafar said.

Baharudin said the incident transpired when one of the witnesses, who was not identified, rode into Taman Lawang looking to solicit oral sex.

“The two assailants, who were also on a motorcycle forced the witness to surrender his bike. The assailants then took him to the nearby Manggarai neighborhood and abandoned him,” Baharudin said.

Baharudin said the witness claimed to hear gun shots and informed officers at a nearby precinct.

“We’re still looking at possible motives for the shooting,” Baharudin said.

However, another eyewitness, identified as Memey, told a different story.

In her account given to officers in Menteng, she said the unnamed witness was actually at the scene when the shooting occurred.

“When he was receiving oral sex from Venus, one of the assailants pointed his gun at him and told him to hand over his bike, wallet and ID card,” Memey said.

She said Venus came to the defense of her customer and called her friends over.

“One of the assailants then fired three shots at Venus, Shakira and Astrid and took off after snatching the customer’s motorcycle,” Memey said.

The stolen motorcycle apparently broke down and was discarded on nearby Jl. Purworejo. It was impounded by Menteng Police.

Astrid gave a different description of the assailants. She told reporters at the hospital that the shooter was tall, not short, and that he claimed to be a law enforcement officer.

RSCM forensics expert Mun’im Idris, who performed the autopsy on Shakira, said the shots were fired from a close distance of between 50 and 60 centimeters.

Jakarta Public Order Agency head Effendi Anas said none of the members of his agency were involved in the shooting.

“Public order officers don’t carry guns,” he said Thursday.

In late February, a group of transgendered people staged a protest against the inhumane treatment they received in Taman Lawang at the hands of public order officers during raids.

Effendi said Thursday that no raids were scheduled for Wednesday night.