J

akarta Police chief Insp. Gen. Tito Karnavian defended a police officer who fled the scene after shooting a man identified as Jufri '€œJamal'€ Pasaribu, saying that the officer had opened fire because he felt threatened by the victim.

Tito said that during the Saturday night incident, Tanjung Priok Police detective Adj. Comr. I Gede Ngurah had ordered Jamal not to run, but Jamal then pointed an object toward Ngurah. Thinking that the object was a firearm, Ngurah then fired his gun at Jamal.

'€œIt turns out that the guy was only pointing his own shirt,'€ Tito said as quoted by tribunnews.com on Tuesday, adding that the detective did not have a clear view of Jamal as the incident took place at night.

Tito said the police would carry out an internal investigation into the incident.

Jamal had previously been reported to the police by Sungai Bambu resident Suprapto for allegedly vandalizing property and threatening his family. Jamal, who according to witnesses was under the influence of alcohol, tried to evade the police, at which point an officer opened fire.