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Samarinda church attacker convicted terrorist: Police
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Sectarian incident: Police personnel inspect the site of a Molotov cocktail attack in front of the Oikumene Christian Church in Sengkotek subdistrict, Samarinda, East Kalimantan on Sunday. (dok/Polda Kaltim)
T
he National Police have confirmed that the suspect allegedly behind an attack on an East Kalimantan church on Sunday is a convicted terrorist.
On Sunday morning, several Molotov cocktails were thrown into the parking lot of the Oikumene Christian Church in Sengkotek subdistrict, Samarinda. Four children reportedly suffered burn injuries in the attack, which also caused scorch damage to four motorcycles parked in front of the church.
Immediately after the incident, local residents apprehended a 32-year-old man, identified only by the initial J, whom they believed to have attacked the church. He was seen running away from the scene toward the nearby Mahakam River immediately after the attack.
National Police chief Gen. Tito Karnavian has confirmed that J is a convicted terrorist. In 2012, he was sentenced to 42 months in prison for his involvement in a plot to blow up the Center for Science and Technology Research (Puspiptek) complex in Serpong, Banten, the site of a nuclear reactor, and Christ Cathedral Church in Gading Serpong, also in Banten. He was paroled in July 2014.
Tito also said that the police would thoroughly investigate the Samarinda incident.
“The perpetrator has been arrested. Please trust law enforcers to crack down on his [terrorist] network,” Tito said, as quoted by tempo.co. (hwa)
