Pakistani police commandos fatally shot a nine-year-old Australian girl and severely wounded her father and brother after mistaking them for armed thieves, authorities said.
Hania Ahmed, a grade four student from Perth, was killed in Chakwal on Wednesday when Punjab Police Elite Force personnel opened fire. Her father Adeel Ahmed, 39, and 11-year-old brother Aafan sustained severe injuries, while her mother escaped unhurt.
Police said the family were trying to flee in their rental car after thieves attempted to rob them at gunpoint. "In the ensuing chaos, the officer involved mistakenly assessed that the suspects were attempting to flee in the victims' vehicle and discharged his weapon," the Punjab Police's Crime Control Department said in a statement on Sunday, calling the decision "erroneous."
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said his government "expects there to be transparency and a proper investigation." The officer who fired has been remanded in custody, while the two robbery suspects were killed in a separate shootout.
