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.

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