A 19-year-old factory worker was shot dead during a robbery in Karachi’s Shah Latif Town area on Wednesday morning after he threw a stone at armed robbers, police and family members said.

The incident took place in Abdullah Goth, where three motorcycle-riding suspects allegedly intercepted the victim’s relatives and snatched their mobile phones. The killing has raised the reported number of citizens killed while resisting robberies in Karachi this year to 39.

Police identified the victim as Syed Muhammad Rizwan, son of Nasir Abbas. He was a resident of Abdullah Goth and originally belonged to Bahawalpur. His body was shifted to Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre for legal formalities.

According to the victim’s brother Sultan, Rizwan was walking to work with him and their brother-in-law at around 7am when the suspects stopped them at gunpoint. Sultan said he and his brother-in-law were walking ahead, while Rizwan was slightly behind them.

Sultan told reporters at the hospital that Rizwan threw a stone at the robbers after seeing the robbery. The suspects then opened fire and fled the scene. Rizwan was hit in the chest and died on the spot.

The family said Rizwan worked at Qasim Textile Mill on the National Highway.

Shah Latif Town SHO Mumtaz Marwat said police collected evidence from the crime scene, including four spent bullet casings. He said the victim suffered one bullet wound to the chest, which proved fatal.

Police said they had started a search for the suspects using available evidence.

Karachi has continued to report fatal street crime incidents, with citizens frequently targeted during robberies and mobile phone snatching attempts. According to the reported tally in this case, 39 people have been killed in the city this year while resisting robbery

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