Anton Kogoya, a 27-year-old man from Wamena, Papua, was shot dead in a clash during which an unidentified soldier with the Indonesian Military (TNI) fired toward a group of allegedly drunk local residents at 10:34 p.m. local time on Saturday.

Cendrawasih XVII Military Command spokesman Lt.Col.Jansen Simanjuntak said the soldier had been forced to fire the shot.

“He had first fired a warning shot, but he was chased by the group who threatened him with a machete pointed toward him. So, he fired the shot, which hit the victim,” he told The Jakarta Post in Jayapura on Sunday.

The incident began when three soldiers from Army Infantry Battalion (Yonif) 756 Napua – Second Sgt. Agung, First Pvt.Sitanggang, and Second Pvt.Haryono – left their post and went to to play futsal in the center of Wamena at around 8 p.m. local time.

They stopped at the Wonogiri 3 food stall on their way home after playing futsal. At the food stall, five locals who appeared drunk confronted the soldiers, asking them for money. A clash subsequently broke out when they refused to give them the money.

They all left the food stall and a fight broke out on Jl.Yos Sudarso, after which one of the soldiers fired a warning shot into the air. The locals kept attacking, however, resulting in the TNI member letting off his gun in the direction of the attackers.

“The bullet entered his [Kogoya's] left side and exited from his right side. He died at the scene,” Jansen said.

He said the soldier would be brought to justice despite claiming to have fired the shot in self-defense. (asw/ebf

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