Jayapura – An unidentified shooter shot a policeman to death at Enarotali airport in the Paniai district of West Papua on Tuesday morning, according to officials.

Papua Police Spokesman Sr. Comr. Yohannes Nugroho said Brig. Yohan Kasiwaitouw was shot while he was washing a car at the end of the airport runway.

"We predict that the perpetrator who killed Yohan Kasiwaitouw in Paniai this morning used a revolver, because we found the projectile not far from the crime scene," Yohannes said.

Yohannes said that the perpetrator might be member of the Free Papua Organization (OPM), who the police often blame when confronted with unidentified suspects. Police say they're hunting for the perpetrator.

Deputy chief of Papua police Brig. Gen. Paulus Waterpauw said on Tuesday that "after Yohan was shot from a near distance, the perpetrator allegedly took away his weapon."

Paulus added that police do not plan to beef up security by adding personnel or implementing a night curfew in Paniai. "There are enough military members in Paniai, and they're searching for the murderer."

Church leader in Enarotali said the Paniai district is especially quiet after the shooting. "People are afraid to go out of their houses," Marko Kanas Pekei said. "All shops and restaurants are closed. There are only police and military officers patrolling."