Jayapura: The body of First Pvt. La Ode Alwi, a member of the Army’s Nabire-based Battalion 753 who died after being shot in the head and having his assault rifle forcibly taken in front of a store in Puncak Jaya, Papua, was flown to his hometown in Muna, Southeast Sulawesi, on Friday for burial.
“In line with a request from the family, the body of La Ode Alwi has been flown to Muna via Makassar [South Sulawesi] and Kendari [Southeast Sulawesi],” Papua Military Command spokesman Col. Ali Hamdan Bogra said in Jayapura on Friday.
La Ode died on an airplane bound for Jayapura on Thursday. He was reportedly in a critical condition when he was rushed to Mulia Hospital following the shooting, which occurred in front of a Cipta Jaya Mulia store.
Cenderawasih Military Commander Maj. Gen. M. Erwin Syafitri said that La Ode was on his way to his post in Kota Baru Mulia, along with a
colleague, when they were ambushed by a man.
A bystander, Pemerina Morip, 40, also sustained chest injuries in the attack.
“I have ordered [soldiers] to hunt down the culprit of the ambush,” Erwin said.
Since January this year, two other people have died in shootings in Puncak Jaya.
A resident, Kismavorit, 27, was gunned down by an unidentified man on Jan. 20.
On Jan. 28, First Brig. Sukarno from the Papua Police’s Mobile Brigade was also shot dead in another location in Puncak Jaya.