Selfie death: Teen fatally shoots himself trying to take gun selfie in St. Louis - TomoNews
  • 8 years ago
ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI — It appears that a selfie gone wrong is to blame for a St. Louis-area 15-year-old who was killed when he fatally shot himself in the chest last week, police said.

DaMontez Jones died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound to his right upper chest, and the shooting has been ruled an accident, police said.

The shooting occurred around 7:30 p.m. last Friday at a home located in the Overland area, according to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. DaMontez was there with two older brothers, ages 16 and 17, and a younger half-sibling.

Police think Jones found the loaded and unlocked gun on the top shelf of a bedroom closet when his mother and her fiance, who owns the gun, were not home.

His three brothers were in another part of the house when they heard the gun go off.

DaMontez was rushed to the hospital, where he died.

Overland police Lt. Steve Branham said they believe Jones may have been trying to take a selfie due to the proximity of the phone and the gun.

“He had a cellphone found next to him,” Branham said.

Police have been unable to get the phone to work and are sending it to a lab to see if there are any photos in the phone of DaMontez with the gun.
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