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In the latest episode of gun violence in the city, a transvestite was shot dead and two others wounded in an armed robbery gone bad early on Thursday.

A team of forensics doctors laboring over the corpse of the transvestite killed in Menteng on Thursday managed to pull a 9 millimeter bullet from the body.

The 28-year-old victim, Faisal Harahap, a k a Shakira, was shot at Taman Lawang in Menteng, Central Jakarta, a popular hangout for transvestites.

The other two victims were identified as 19-year-old Agus Juliawan, aka Venus, and 24-year-old Tantan Setia, aka Astrid. Venus was critically injured and had to undergo emergency surgery while Tantan suffered gunshot wounds to the waist and upper left arm. Shakira suffered a gunshot wound to the chest.

Mun’im Idris, forensics division chief at Cipto Mangunkusumo Hospital, or RSCM, said that Shakira had been shot at point blank range.

Central Jakarta Police chief Sr. Comr. Hamidin said police were hunting down at least two men involved in the shooting.

“The incident itself occurred at 3:25 a.m. on Thursday,” he said, adding that his officers were questioning a witness identified as 27-year-old Agus Karsa Abadi Hutahuruk.

He said the shooters tried to steal his motorcycle, at which point he dumped it. Agus is believed to have come back later to reclaim it.

Menteng Police Chief Adj. Sr. Comr. Djuwito Purnomo added that Agus Karsa was allegedly having sex with Venus when the perpetrators arrived on a Yamaha Mio motorcycle.

“They [the perpetrators] arrived and rebuked Agus and Venus, both of whom at the time were hidden behind some bushes in the park engaging in sex,” Djuwito said.

“One was a tall man in a hat. Another was stocky and short. Both said they were officers. Whether they were really officers of the law is anybody’s guess.”

“The men demanded Agus hand over his wallet and motorcycle key, which he did. Agus then ran away some how and the men attempted to take his motorcycle, but some transvestites in the area, including the three who were shot, tried to stop them from making off with it. The perpetrator, who probably felt cornered, fired his gun three times hitting Shakira, Astrid and Venus who were the closest. They eventually left Agus’s motorcycle because they couldn’t get it started.”

Another witness, Jajang, a k a Santi, told the Jakarta Globe that he was a couple of meters away when the shooting took place.

“I was near Astrid when Shakira called him on his mobile for help. He said someone was harassing him while claiming to be a police officer,” he said. “Astrid walked over to Shakira, asking what was going on, and then I heard three gunshots.”

Santi also said Astrid called him for help and asked him for tissues because his arm was bleeding. The police came immediately and brought the victims to the Cipto Mangunkusumo hospital.

Jakarta Police’s spokesperson Sr. Comr. Baharudin Djafar said that police investigators focusing on the case were a team from the Menteng Police, Central Jakarta Police and the Jakarta Police Headquarters.

“We assume that the gun used by the perpetrator is a revolver because we did not find any shells at the scene,” said Baharudin.

The victims are being represented by the Jakarta Legal Aid Foundation, People’s Legal Aid Foundation and LGBT rights group Arus Pelangi.