Four killed in shooting spree in Aceh on New Year’s Eve

Four people were shot dead in two separate locations in Aceh on New Year’s Eve, police say.

National Police spokesman Insp. Gen. Saud Usman Nasution said early on Sunday that there were three incidents on New Year’s Eve, two of which took place in Aceh.

However, he did not mention where the other incident took place.

In one of the cases, unidentified gunmen riding a motorcycle fired gunshots at cable workmen who had been staying at a mess in Jempa ditrict, Bireuen regency, Aceh, at 9 p.m. on Saturday. The assailants used AK-series rifles, Saud said as quoted by detik.com.

According to Saud, three workers – Sunyoto, Suparno and Daud – were killed instantly, while seven others – Andri, Hasan, Kirul, Imam, Kopral, Aan and Bonjol – suffered gunshot wounds.

Publicly listed state telecommunications firm PT Telkom said all of the men were working on fiber optic cables for PT Telkomsel, a Telkom subsidiary.

In Doi Ulee Kareng village, Banda Aceh, an unidentified person riding a motorcycle opened fire and killed a store clerk at 9 p.m., Saud said.

He said the bullet entered the left side of clerk’s head and penetrated to the right.

“We are investigating all of the perpetrators,” he said. (mtq)