KARACHI, Pakistan (AP) — A Pakistani official says police have opened a blasphemy case against a teenage Christian boy accused of sending derogatory text messages about Islam's prophet to neighbors in the southern city of Karachi.

Senior police officer Shahid Hayat said Friday that the 17-year-old is in hiding along with family members after neighbors angrily came to his house to inquire about the text messages.

Hayat says the neighbors ransacked the family's home Wednesday. He says the mob then lodged a formal complaint with police.

He said the boy told neighbors he forwarded the messages without reading them.

Opening such a case does not mean that the person is charged with a crime but that police are investigating. People convicted of maligning the prophet can be sentenced to death.