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Jakarta. A group of armed thieves shot and injured a man while attempting to steal his motorcycle in Cikarang, Bekasi, and police are pointing to a worrying rise in firearms being used in crimes.

The Sunday night attack came as the victim, who police have identified as 21-year-old Tarwin, parked his motorcycle outside a restaurant on Jalan Sentosa Raya in the Taman Sentosa residential complex, said Sr. Comr. Boy Rafli Amar, Jakarta Police spokesman.

Tarwin’s friend, Arrohman, saw one or more of the gang trying to pick the lock on Tarwin’s motorcycle and raised the alarm.

“Upon reaching an intersection, the perpetrators turned around and shot Tarwin in his right leg. Tarwin was rushed to hospital for treatment,” Boy said on Monday.

The four perpetrators rode two motorcycles with full-face helmets. They are all still at large. Boy said police officers would continue to investigate and monitor the illegal firearms trade.

“This is a nation of islands, and it is very possible that sea ports are used to smuggle these illegal firearms,” he said.

Boy said criminals using firearms was a rising trend, with guns easily available on the black market, “like a cell phone.” Web sites sell them openly, Boy said.

Police identified one such site as www.gudangsenjata.com, which they have under strict surveillance. The site did not appear active on Monday.

A string of armed robberies this year has highlighted the circulation of illegal weapons across the nation.

A report released this month by the International Crisis Group, an independent think tank, pointed out that while instances of civilian gun ownership in Indonesia were relatively low, recent cases of firearms falling into criminal hands had raised alarm bells.

Police believe some weapons are smuggled into Indonesia from Thailand and the Philippines, or left over from previous bouts of conflict in Aceh.

The ICG report, however, pointed to several other possible sources: Some are purchased illegally or stolen from domestic security forces, while others come from local gunsmiths, who piece together spare parts to make functioning weapons.