Exclusive: Young Woman Killed in Aligudarz by Police Officer's Gunfire at Vehicle

Following reports from citizens about the killing of a young woman due to gunfire from government agents in Aligudarz, a knowledgeable source told Voice of America that a police officer shot directly at a family's vehicle from close range, resulting in the death of 21-year-old Negar Karimiann. According to the source's statements in an interview with the Persian section of Voice of America on Wednesday, March 14, "At 1 AM on March 8, while returning from Aligudarz to Isfahan, the officer mistakenly shot at Negar Karimiann's car instead of a vehicle carrying drugs from a distance of one meter." The source added that the bullet "passed through the driver's side door, injured Negar's father's hand, struck Negar in the abdomen, exited through her back, and was ejected out the passenger side door." However, in a subsequent call, the source informed Voice of America that "the bullet got stuck in the car's column and did not exit." The bullet's mark remained on the vehicle carrying Negar Karimiann, the deceased citizen. The source noted that at the time of the incident, besides Negar and her father, "two of her sisters and the husband of one of her sisters" were also in the car. According to this exclusive report, after the incident, Negar Karimiann was taken to Imam Sadiq Hospital in Aligudarz and died at 3:30 AM due to internal bleeding. It is worth mentioning that the name of the hospital where Negar was transferred was previously mentioned as Valiyan. A source close to Negar also stated that the "offending officer is currently in custody." The source indicated that Negar Karimiann, 21 years old and unmarried, was born on August 19, 2002, and originally from Borujen Bakhtiari, residing in Isfahan. According to the source, following a report to the police about a "vehicle carrying drugs," an officer not in uniform "shot directly at the Karimiann family's car without a stop order or warning shot." Voice of America cannot independently verify the details of this report. However, in this regard, the human rights organization Hengaw has also published a report. This is not the first time that government agents have shot directly at citizens' vehicles under the pretext of "suspicion." The hasty shooting by officers at vehicles has previously resulted in the deaths of several citizens, including children. News sources reported on January 21 that during direct fire from the Islamic Republic's plainclothes forces in Borujerd, one citizen was killed and another injured. Additionally, in the early days of last winter, a 12-year-old girl named Soha Etemadi was killed due to police gunfire at a vehicle on a road in Hormozgan province. Furthermore, in the same year, a two-year-old child was killed due to gunfire from special forces at a family vehicle in Isfahan. The significance of these incidents highlights ongoing concerns regarding police conduct and the safety of civilians in Iran.