Washington - A 19-year-old Texas man fatally shot himself while trying to take a selfie, according to news reports on Wednesday.
The man didn’t know the gun he posed with was loaded and shot himself in the throat, according to the reports, which quoted a spokesman for the Houston police department.
The victim was identified by local broadcaster KPRC as Deleon Alonso Smith.
Investigators with the department are still looking into the shooting, but everything points to an accident.
Family members said the victim had never talked about suicide.
“It’s the worst feeling in my life,” said Eric Douglas, Smith’s uncle.
Smith, who leaves behind two young daughters, was supposed to begin attending community college this week.
It is not the first fatality linked to an attempt to take a selfie.
Two people - the 29-year-old pilot and his passenger - died last year in Colorado in a plane crash that the US National Transportation Safety Board investigated. The authorities concluded their attempt to take a selfie during the flight led to the crash.
And two Poles died last year in Portugal when they fell while taking photos of themselves on a steep cliff.
DPA