MARKSVILLE - Authorities say a 6-year-old boy is dead and his father is in critical condition after marshals for a city in central Louisiana shot at a vehicle they were fleeing in.

Officials say the two were shot about 9:30 p.m. Tuesday in the city of Marksville. 

Avoyelles Parish coroner Dr. L. J. Mayeux identified the driver as Chris Few and his son as Jeremy Mardis, a first-grader at a nearby elementary school.

Mayeux says city marshals were chasing Few after he fled an attempt to serve a warrant.

The coroner says Few reached a dead end and was backing into the marshals when they fired. The coroner says the boy was "caught in the line of fire" and was killed.

State police are handling the investigation, but they provided few details.

Chris Few's mother, Samantha Few, worked at a store down the road from the shooting in Marksville. Few said she went down to the scene of the shooting last night after hearing there was a shooting.

Few said she knew that the car at the scene was her son's car and saw her grandson's body laying in the seat. Few said she stayed near the crime scene tape for two hours before she was told any information by police.

Few said that the coroner told her that her grandson was shot multiple times and that she did not know why police were chasing her son. Few also said that her son did not own a gun. 

Chris Few underwent surgery Tuesday night for a gunshot wound to his head. According to Samantha Few, Chris was talking right before he went into surgery, but she was unsure whether he knew that his son was killed. 

The Marshal's Office said that the shooting is still under investigation. When asked whether the marshals involved in the shooting are still at work, a receptionist with the Marshal's Office said, "It's under investigation."