National Police spokesman Sr. Comr. Boy Rafli Amar has confirmed that a Papua Police Mobile Brigade officer who was injured in a shooting incident was not hit by gunfire.
“First Brig. Mujahidin did not suffer a gunshot wound, he injured his ankle when he was trying to avoid being shot by an unknown assailant,” he told The Jakarta Post on Saturday.
Mujahidin, who was treated at Kuala Kencana Hospital, was involved in the shooting on Saturday at 3:30 p.m. local time (1:30 p.m. Jakarta time) in Mimika regency, Papua, Antara news agency reported.
Boy said the police had yet to be able to determine the perpetrator, the type of weapon the perpetrator had used or the motive behind the shooting.
The shooting took place at Mile Post 41 (not Mile Post 43 as earlier reported), where United States-based mining company PT Freeport Indonesia operates, according to Freeport spokesman Ramdani Sirait, based on information the company had received on Saturday afternoon.
“We’re giving the authorities our full support in the investigation,” he told the Post.
Violence has escalated recently in Papua, with at least 17 people, including several TNI members, having been killed in various locations in the province since last month.
A failure to implement special autonomy granted to Papua has been blamed by some for the escalating violence.