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- Alleged suspect, identified as a student, was one of two people undergoing surgery after the blast, police said
- Incident occurred at a high school complex located in a navy compound in North Jakarta
JAKARTA: More than 50 people were injured in multiple explosions that occurred during Friday prayers at a mosque in Jakarta, police said, with a student identified as the suspected perpetrator.
The incident took place inside the complex of SMAN 72, a state-funded high school in Kelapa Gading, North Jakarta.
“We have caught the suspected perpetrator, and we are investigating his identity,” National Police Chief Listyo Sigit Prabowo told reporters.
At least 54 people were rushed to local hospitals with a range of minor to serious injuries, including burns. Some have been discharged, but two people were still undergoing surgery, Listyo said, one of whom is the alleged suspect.
“We are still looking into the motive. We found a weapon, a fake weapon with writing on it … We will explain everything once we have gathered all the information, evidence from the ground, and the results of our investigation,” he said.
Initial information suggests that the alleged suspect was a member of the student body, he added.
At least two loud blasts were heard when the incident occurred around midday, just as a sermon was starting at the high school mosque, according to witnesses interviewed by local television stations. Students and others ran out in panic as gray smoke filled the mosque.
The school complex is located on largely navy-owned land in a crowded area of North Jakarta, home to many military personnel and retired officers.
The area has been cordoned off as police officers “processed the crime scene,” while an anti-bomb squad has been deployed at the scene, said Jakarta Police Chief Asep Edi Suheri.
“We have taken several measures … including setting up a police line and sterilizing the area,” he told reporters.
Black-clad police officers carrying assault rifles were seen guarding the iron gates of the compound on Friday afternoon, as emergency and armored police vehicles were on standby on the street outside.
“Let the authorities work first,” Suheri said. “We will convey whatever the results are to the public.”