The Jakarta Post, July 19, 2004
Female reverend shot dead in Palu
Irvan NR, Palu
An unknown assailant shot dead a female reverend on Sunday night during a sermon
at Effata Church in the Central Sulawesi capital of Palu, some four hours away from
the restive regency of Poso.
Susianti Tinulele, the 29-year-old reverend, was shot dead while delivering a sermon.
The unknown assailant showered bullets on dozens of churchgoers, seriously injuring
four of them.
Adj. Sr. Comr. Victor Batara, the Central Sulawesi Police's spokesman, said that the
shooting began at 7 p.m, when a man suddenly entered the church on Jl. Banteng
here and shot at Susianti. Another version said that there were two assailants, one
stayed outside the church to hold a security guard, while the other entered the church
and showered bullets on the reverend and her congregation.
The man quickly fled the scene after the incident, leaving the people in panic.
Sunday's shooting followed a bombing and two separate murders in Poso regency on
Friday and Saturday.
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 after Freddy's murder, two unknown
assailants showered bullets on churchgoers attending an Easter sermon at the
Tabernacle Church in the religiously divided regency of Poso. Seven people were
injured.
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