DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — A boy was shot and killed by police after his father stole a car in the southwestern province of Khuzestan and drove off with him, Iranian authorities said.
Shushtar County Police Chief Ruhollah Bigdeli said – via Iran’s official police website – that several officers tried to stop the “stolen vehicle by shooting at it”. The boy died on the spot.
Police said they issued several warnings to the man before they began shooting, adding that he had a criminal record including car theft and drug trafficking.
Iranian news site Jamaran identified the boy as 9-year-old Morteza Delf Zaregani. They spoke to the father who accused the police of not issuing any warning before shooting.
Morteza’s photo has been shared on social media, with people expressing their grief over his death.
In November, 9-year-old Kian Pirfalak was killed in a shooting that his mother blamed on security forces.
Pirfalak was shot and killed as he walked with his parents on a street in the southwestern city of Izeh, Khuzestan province, packed with protesters, during nationwide protests after the death of Mahsa Amini, 22, after her arrest by the country’s vice squad. .