Photo taken from Asian News International’s Official Twitter page
Another documented case of a selfie gone horribly wrong happened in India, after a teenager accidentally killed himself while posing for a photo with his father’s pistol inside their own home.
15-year-old Ramandeep Singh playfully pointed a .32 bore revolver at his head during a photo-op with his sister on Saturday, but according to reports from The Telegraph, he mistakenly pulled the trigger of the gun instead of clicking the camera button on his mobile phone.
His neighbors reportedly heard the gunshot and immediately alerted his parents, who were not at home during the time of the incident.
Singh was rushed to a private hospital in Ludhiana, Punjab, but to no avail. He still succumbed to his headshot wound on Sunday.
Police chief Manoj Kumar claimed that the teen managed to get a hold of the licensed firearm belonging to his father, Gurkirpal Singh, which was usually kept inside a wardrobe in the house for security purposes.
Death toll of selfie-related fatalities rising
Meanwhile, the tragedy reportedly brings the number of selfie-related deaths in India to 11, just this year alone.
The alarming rate has also led officials in Mumbai, India, to set up 16 “no selfie zones” at popular yet dangerous locations, after several reported incidents claimed the lives of unsuspecting photographers.
A “no selfie” warning sign was seen inside the famous tourist spot, Mehrangarh Fort in Jodphur, Rajasthan, India. Screengrab from Instagram user @roshnibajaj
For instance, a man in Kerala was gored by an irate elephant while posing for a selfie at an Indian temple last month, while a teenager in Chennai also lost his life after posing near railway tracks.
India has reportedly overtook the US this year to become the world’s second-largest smartphone market, with 220 million users, behind only China. Khristian Ibarrola