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Police probe nonfatal shooting of Prabowo campaign volunteer in Madura
Local police are investigating a shooting of a 49-year-old volunteer with the Prabowo campaign, who is said to be stabilizing in a Surabaya hospital after he was shot by two unidentified gunmen last Thursday in Madura.
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Supporters wave and take photos of presidential candidate Prabowo Subianto on Dec. 17, 2023 as he stands in the open sunroof of a car while en route to visit the grave of first president Sukarno in Blitar, East Java, a key battleground province in Indonesian elections. (Antara//Irfan Anshori)
East Java Police are investigating the shooting last Thursday of a campaign volunteer on the Prabowo Subianto-Gibran Rakabuming Raka team in Sampang regency, Madura, East Java.
Muarah, 49, was reportedly having coffee with acquaintances in front of a shop at around 9:30 a.m. when he was approached by two men wearing helmets and face coverings, riding a Yamaha NMAX motorcycle.
The two unidentified assailants allegedly fired two shots and hit the victim’s abdomen. Muarah was rushed to the nearest hospital before he was transferred to Dr. Soetomo Regional General Hospital in Surabaya.
East Java Police spokesman Sr. Comr. Dirmanto said the force was forming a special task force to immediately solve the case and arrest the perpetrators.
“We are backing up the case,” he said on Monday, as quoted by online news portal VIVA.co.id.
Lt. Gen. (ret) Sjafrie Sjamsoedin, an advisory board member of the Prabowo-Gibran campaign team, confirmed the shooting of one of its volunteers.
"It is true that [Muarah] is a volunteer for Pak [Mr.] Prabowo and Pak Gibran. He is currently in treatment. Please pray that Pak Muarah will recover quickly," Sjafrie said on Monday while visiting the victim at the Surabaya hospital, as quoted by Kumparan.com.
Sjafrie also said Muarah’s condition was stabilizing after undergoing surgery, during which two pieces of metal were extracted.
"We are also very surprised by this incident that happened during a safe, peaceful, joyful democratic celebration. We are truly very surprised," he added.
Read also: Presidential contenders jostle for support in East Java
The incident had been reported to the Sampang Police and was under investigation, said Sjafrie, who also expressed his hope that a similar incident would not happen again.
Separately, Prabowo’s national campaign manager Rosan Roeslani said he was coordinating with the National Police, the Indonesian Military (TNI) and the local administration in investigating the shooting.
"Whatever the motive was, this [incident] is a type of crime that must be condemned and should not be tolerated by any candidates or citizens,” Rosan said, as quoted by detikNews.
“We must fight together against actions that cause hatred, division and harm to society. We must maintain enlightening, entertaining and beneficial elections for the community," he stressed.
