Dili – Three people were killed Friday after Indonesian soldiers opened fire while trying to catch a suspected killer in East Timor, police said.

Bacau district police chief Major S.C. Marpaung said the soldiers were chasing a suspected murderer, identified as Faria, when they opened fire in Gariwai village in Baucua district.

He said Faria and two passers-by, identified as Ildefonso, 30, and Estefania, a 40-year-old woman, died on the scene. Their bodies were later taken to Bacau hospital.

Faria was travelling on public transport when the patrolling soldiers spotted and chased him. He then got off the minivan and ran away, prompting the soldiers to shoot at him, police said.