A nine-year-old Australian girl has been tragically killed, and two of her family members injured, after being shot by police in Pakistan in a case of mistaken identity.
The family, from the Perth suburb of Kewdale, were visiting a relative in Chakwal, located in Punjab province, when they were robbed while in their rental car on Wednesday night local time, as reported by Pakistani English-language news outlet Dawn.
According to local media, two robbers on a motorcycle, one of whom was armed with a pistol, fled the scene when they were spotted by a police officer. At the same time, the rental car also drove away.
“As the cops saw the vehicle being driven away immediately, they took it as belonging to the robbers and opened indiscriminate fire on the car,” a police official told local media.
The family was rushed to a hospital, where the young girl was pronounced dead. Her father and older brother sustained serious injuries, while her mother was unharmed.
The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade confirmed it is providing consular assistance to the family of the deceased Australian and the two injured Australians.
“We send our deepest condolences to the family at this difficult time,” a department spokesperson said in a statement.
Asim Chaudhry, general secretary of the Pakistani Association of Western Australia, expressed the shock felt by the local community. “This news is very shocking, especially the death of the nine-year-old,” he told Nine News. “They just came from the pilgrimage [to Mecca].”
