Covering clashes between residents in Tual, journalist shot with air rifle

Journalist for Infomaluku.com named Farhat Rettob, was known to have been shot with an air rifle while covering clashes between residents in the city of Tual on Thursday, 2 February 2023. Two groups of residents have been attacking each other using sharp weapons and air rifles since Tuesday night.

Farhat Rettob was hit by an air rifle, which hit the victim's left chest. The victim was taken to the Maren Hospital in the city of Tual, to receive medical treatment. That day, the victim was at the location of the clash to make a report.

Information regarding the shooting of the victim was known to a number of journalists in the city, who received short messages via WhatsApp. The message was sent after there was a photo of the victim in hospital, which showed a bleeding wound on his left chest. The incident where the victim was shot was located not far from a resident's house in Tual.

Apart from Farhat, dozens of residents from the two warring groups also became victims, and they are currently receiving treatment at a local hospital.

Two groups of residents in the city of Tual, Maluku, were involved in clashes from Tuesday night, 31 Januari 2023 to Thursday, 2 February 2023. The clash between the two groups occurred after a resident known with the initials SB was hit by an arrow in the head while he was sitting with a number of colleagues at a motorcycle taxi stand not far from the Mayor of Tual's office on Tuesday, 22.00 PM.

It is suspected that the victim was shot by someone riding a motorcycle who was crossing the scene. At that time, the victim's friends chased the suspected perpetrator, but the motorbike being chased escaped and could not be found.

As a result of this incident, the victim's angry relatives immediately attacked a group of residents, resulting in a clash. Apart from causing dozens of people to be injured, the clashes also caused a number of residents' houses to be burnt by the mob.