LIMA, Peru (AP) \u2014 Peruvian authorities on Tuesday said they are investigating the shooting death of an Indonesian diplomat as a contract killing amid a surge in violent crime in the South American country. <\/p>\n
Zetro Leonardo Purba, 40, who worked at the Indonesian Embassy in Peru\u2019s capital, Lima, was shot three times Monday night as he arrived on a bicycle at his apartment building. Authorities said Purba was taken to a hospital but was later declared dead.<\/p>\n
Officials didn\u2019t immediately provide a motive for the shooting. But Interior Minister Carlos Malaver told lawmakers the attack was a \u201cqualified homicide in the form of a contract killing.\u201d<\/p>\n
Police released footage from two surveillance cameras that show a person wearing a helmet firing twice at the diplomat, who then falls to the ground. The images then show the suspect shooting the diplomat a third time and fleeing on a motorcycle driven by another person. <\/p>\n
Malaver added that nothing was stolen from the diplomat, who had arrived in Peru five months ago and was working as a junior officer in the embassy. He had a wife and three children.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey were waiting for him and the bullets hit him in the head; they wanted to kill him,\u201d Malaver said of the suspects. <\/p>\n
Indonesian Foreign Minister Sugiono, in a statement, called for a \u201cthorough, transparent, and expeditious investigation, as well as the maximum possible protection for diplomatic personnel and Indonesian citizens in Peru.\u201d Sugiono, like many Indonesians, uses a single name.<\/p>\n
Peru\u2019s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said the homicide \u201cwill be thoroughly investigated and all necessary assistance and protection will be provided\u201d to Indonesia\u2019s ambassador and embassy staff. Foreign Affairs Minister Elmer Schialer later told reporters that Peru\u2019s main problem is \u201cinsecurity\u201d and acknowledged that the diplomat\u2019s slaying is \u201cone more wake-up call\u201d regarding the issue.<\/p>\n