This is the shocking moment a five-year-old boy howls in anguish after his parents are shot dead in the family car by a gunman in a passing vehicle.

The incident was filmed in the neighbourhood of Piranga in the municipality of Juazeiro in the Brazilian state of Bahia earlier this month.

According to a preliminary investigation, the couple was surprised by gunmen in a white vehicle as soon as they got into their car with their young son.

Both parents were shot and killed on the spot while the boy remained unscathed.

The victims have been identified as Adriana da Silva Ferreira, 36, and Damiao Neto da Silvam, 42.

In the footage, the victims are seen stopping outside a building in a red pickup truck.

The mother gets out and apparently waits for her husband, who jumps in the driver’s seat.

Meanwhile, a man on a motorbike is seen circling around and leaving the scene. Shortly afterwards, a white car is seen approaching the family from a side street.

As soon as the mother gets in the passenger seat with her young son, the white car stops alongside them and a machine gun is seen protruding from a rear window and firing several times.

Both adults slump over in the car as the poor boy hugs his mother for cover and then tries to wake up his dead dad before apparently howling in anguish.

The motive for the double murder is unclear as the investigation continues.