July (Web-only) 2004

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Susianti Tinolele (also spelled Tinulele) was shot in the head while while preaching Sunday night at Effata Presbyterian Church in the Central Sulawesi capital of Palu, Indonesia.

"Local media reported Tinolele, 29, fell straight to the church floor after a bullet rammed through her skull, prompting around 100 churchgoers to frantically run for safety," reports Reuters. Four teens were injured—one critically—as the unidentified gunman sprayed bullets into the congregation.

Provincial police spokesman Victor Batara told the AFP news service that the gunman was "one of a group of five attackers" who arrived on two motorbikes.

Most news services suggest that the attackers were trying to reignite the country's religious war, which left about 1,000 dead between 2000 and 2001.

Here's AFP:

In Jakarta, acting security minister Hari Sabarno said the "inhuman" attackers were trying to trigger renewed conflict. … The attack was intended "to create a horizontal conflict," Sabarno said, using the Indonesian term for conflict between different sectors of society.

Here's Reuters:

The motive was not known, [police spokesman Victor] Batara said. "But clearly they want to disturb security as it has been relatively safe recently."

But here's Nathan Setiabudi, head of the Communion of Churches in Indonesia:

"[President Megawati Soekarnoputri] has ordered the police to catch the criminals. There is no religious motive. We should not be provoked."

No religious motive? The Jakarta Post notes, "Susianti was the second reverend shot dead in Central Sulawesi in the past four months. Another reverend, Freddy Wuisan, was shot dead in Membuke, Poso regency in March this year. Two weeks ...