Farouk Arnaz – A man who was declared a suspect for firing at a church in Indramayu with a rifle was taught to hate Christians by his family, police said.

"That's what he told us. Since he was a child, his parents have taught him to hate Christians," Indramayu Police chief Adj. Sr. Comr. Golkar Pangarso said on Sunday.

The 30-year-old man, who was identified as Hdr, lives with family in Bandung. Golkar said Hdr did not have a any Christian friends while he was growing up. "We are now investigating into why his family hates Christians so much," Golkar said.

Hdr, who works at a furniture shop in Bandung, came to Indramayu with his cousin R.A. for a wedding party last week.

On Friday, he used his cousin's car to drive to the Indonesian Christian Church (GKI). He took out his rifle and, from about seven meters away, fired into the church building. Police were able to identify Hdr and the car by using the church's CCTV system.

Several hours after the incident, police arrested Hdr while he was trying to leave the city. "We charged him with an anti-terrorism law because he terrorized people, even though there weren't any victims. However, we have not found if he has connections with any organizations. It seems that he did this on his own," Golkar said.

The police chief also said there was no prior criminal record against Hdr, but a preliminary examination found that he planned the shooting in advance because a sketch of the church building was found with him when he was arrested. "Hdr is not fully cooperating with us. We are still trying to find out if he surveyed the church before he did this," Golkar said.

Police are also trying to find where Hdr purchased the weapon. The cousin, who said he was not aware of what Hdr was planning, is being treated as a witness.

Meanwhile, Indramayu residents said that Hdr should receive a strong punishment for his actions, which they said had ruined relations among religious followers in the district.

Irmansyah, a Muslim resident who lives near the church, said that the shooting was a crime and had endangered community ties between Muslims and Christians in the area.

"We have a very good relations with Christians. We don't want to ruin that," he said. "I hope Indramayu residents will not be provoked by the shooting. Let the police handle the case."

Masduki, an Islamic cleric in the district, expressed regret on the shooting, saying that all people should be nurtured with a good atmosphere of inter-religious relations in the area instead of ruining it.