Indonesian recalls stinging tear gas in deadly soccer melee
Indonesian police have released photos of the body of two soccer fans, killed in a gang assault in Indonesia’s second-largest city on April 17, 2016.
Indonesia’s top police official said on Wednesday the authorities suspected three attackers were members of a criminal gang that were behind the deadly melee during a match between the Indonesian U-20 football team and Vietnam’s national team in Jakarta’s Jalan Daka No. 2.
“We still do not know the whole picture, not all the people who were involved,” PolGen. H.M. Nahid said in an interview with state radio.
“One must be cautious to protect the public first,” he added.
Two U-20 players were killed and three people were injured in the attack on April 17, 2016, which began with a brawl in front of the U-20 team’s dressing room before police and medical teams arrived on the scene.
The players, who were part of a national team that won the 2012 Olympic gold medal, were attacked by several unknown assailants outside the team’s hotel room.
According to media reports, five attackers, who were later identified by police as members of the same criminal gang, were involved in the attack. The attackers also reportedly shot themselves in the head, when one of the victims tried to run out of the room after a gun went off during the attack.
Indonesia has been struggling with a spate of murders of its citizens on tourist island Lombok since the early 2000s. Most of the victims of the attacks are believed to be criminals, though some of the killings have been traced to tourists.
A total of seven foreigners have been found murdered in and around the island since 2013, four of whom were from Britain.
The two players who were killed in the attack were named as Indonesian midfielder Setyem Setyem and midfielder Rizal Rasamani, both of whom were playing for the Indonesian under-20 team.
Indonesia has recently seen a rise in violent crimes, including attacks on tourists and foreigners in general.