A six-year-old boy was killed in southwest Iran after police fired on a family car and abandoned the wounded at the scene, local sources told Iran International, suggesting that officers’ failure to take him to hospital and leaving his family by the roadside led to his death.
Rights groups had previously reported that the child, identified as Zolfaghar Sharafi, was killed by direct police fire. New information suggests that officers left the scene without assisting the wounded boy or his family.
The sources said police allegedly opened fire after stopping the vehicle for lacking a license plate, injuring Zolfaghar and his younger sister, Tahani.
They said the officers then departed, leaving the injured family by the roadside. The boy died at the scene from heavy bleeding after failing to receive medical treatment in time.
Tahani, who sustained gunshot wounds to her arms and pelvis, was later taken to Ahvaz Golestan Hospital, where the cause of injury was recorded as a “conflict with the state,” according to sources.
Her family was told to pay 150 million tomans (around $1,400) for surgery, which was delayed for three days due to financial hardship before being performed at another hospital.
The sources, citing statements by government officials, said that the officers involved in the shooting have been arrested, but no information has yet been released about their identities or current status.
Rights organizations have documented repeated incidents of security forces firing at civilian vehicles in recent years, often resulting in the deaths of passengers, including children.
The killing of Zolfaghar Sharafi adds to a growing list of minors allegedly shot by security personnel in various provinces, incidents that have rarely led to public accountability.
