Beritasatu, Jakarta – The Jakarta Police ruled out terror allegations after a woman was arrested for pointing a gun at a security officer guarding the State Palace or the office of President Joko Widodo in Central Jakarta on Tuesday morning.
The woman has been identified as Siti Erlina, 24, a housewife living in Koja, North Jakarta.
"This is not an act of terrorism, so stop speculating," Jakarta Police Chief Insp. Gen. Fadil Imran told reporters at his office.
However, he added that there is still an active investigation into the motive of her action. "We will let you know if there is an update in this case. There are many possibilities but terrorism isn't likely one of them," he said.
"The point is that we successfully prevented an incident from happening and that the condition in Jakarta remains safe."
It's unclear if the president was at the palace at that time.
Siti walked from the Harmoni business area to the gate of the State Palace at around 7:00 a.m. and suddenly drew an FN pistol, aiming at a member of the Presidential Security Force (Paspampres) who was on duty, according to Jakarta Police Traffic Director Chief Comr. Latif Usman.
She was immediately tackled and handed to on-duty traffic policemen who seized her gun and a bag containing a Koran, a pink wallet, and a cell phone.
A neighbor said Siti is known as an ordinary person with a calm personality and a long-time resident of the neighborhood where she lives with her husband and their two young children.
"She is an introvert person to others but because I'm the wife of the neighborhood leader, we often communicate," said Nurjanah, the wife of the local community leader.
Nurjanah added that she was shocked by the news because "we just met yesterday" and there was nothing abnormal about Siti.
Police and soldiers were seen wandering in the neighborhood after the incident.
Presidential Chief of Staff General (Ret.) Moeldoko said Siti had acted alone and that the gun she carried contained an "empty bullet shell".
"It appears to be a modified gun that contained an empty bullet shell without the projectile. A thorough investigation is underway," Moedoko said.
The former military chief added that Siti will be referred to a psychologist to undergo an examination of her behavior and mental condition.