A 10-year-old boy was killed on Friday after getting caught in an exchange of fire between police and a recently released alleged criminal in Karachi's Quaidabad area on Friday, according to officials.

Deputy Inspector General (DIG) East Zone Amir Farooqi told Dawn that two policemen in civvies were on intelligence gathering duty in Sherpao Colony when they came across a suspect named Sher Zaman, who had been arrested by police on more than a dozen occasions in the past.

The suspect, according to DIG Farooqi, allegedly opened fire on the police officials before breaking into a home. The policemen chased the fleeing suspect, following which an exchange of fire took place, in which both the policemen as well as the suspect received injuries.

The DIG said that two boys — a 10 and a 12-year-old — were caught in the crossfire. It remained unclear whose shots had hit the children.

Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre (JPMC) executive director Dr Seemin Jamali said that the condition of one of the two boys was critical as he sustained a bullet wound on his head. He was put on a ventilator before he succumbed to his injuries. The other boy's injuries were non-life threatening as he received a bullet wound on the leg.

Dr Jamali further said that of the two injured policemen, one has gunshot wounds on his abdomen and chest, but the other only has minor injuries.

The suspect, meanwhile, sustained a bullet wound on his leg, the JPMC official added.