Dubai, June 10: A boy was shot and killed by police after his father stole a car in the southwestern Khuzestan province and drove off with him, Iranian authorities said.

Ruhollah Bigdeli, chief of police in Shushtar County, said — via Iran's official police website — that officers tried to stop the “stolen vehicle by shooting at it”, but the boy was caught in the crossfire and died on the spot. Mahsa Amini Death: Iran Disbands 'Morality Police' Two Months After Anti-Hijab Protests.

Police said they issued the man several warnings before they started shooting, adding that he had a criminal record, including car theft and drug smuggling. The Iranian Jamaran news website 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. WhatsApp Restricted in Iran Amid Raging Anti-Hijab Law Protests After Death of Mahsa Amini in Custody of ‘Morality Police’.

Morteza's photo was shared on social media, with people expressing sorrow for 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 while passing with his parents through a street in the southwestern city of Izeh, in Khuzestan province, filled with demonstrators, during nationwide protests following the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini after her arrest by the country's morality police.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)