Woman shoots herself in head while taking selfie

The woman found a 9mm handgun left behind by a security guard at her office in Moscow and decided take a selfie with it.

May 25, 2015 01:23 pm | Updated September 06, 2016 09:22 am IST - Moscow

A 21-year-old Russian woman has been critically wounded after accidentally shooting herself in the head with a pistol while posing for a selfie.

The woman found a 9mm handgun left behind by a security guard at her office in Moscow and decided take a selfie while posing with the firearm.

Holding the gun close to her head, the young woman accidentally pulled the gun’s trigger and shot herself through the temple.

A spokesperson for the Moscow’s Sklifosovsky hospital said the woman was in a “serious condition” after she was brought to the Moscow clinic on Thursday.

The owner of the gun is now facing up to six months behind bars for negligent weapon possession, RIA Novosti news agency reported.

“The letter of the law states that firearms, with the owner absent, should be kept in a special safe, beyond the reach of those not authorised to use it,” a source told the agency.

Police are investigating how the woman got hold of the gun as the security guard, who was on holidays when the tragic incident occurred, had secured the weapon in the office.

The trend for posting selfie photographs online has prompted risky behaviour worldwide.

On Saturday, a Singaporean man died in Bali after falling off a cliff while taking a selfie. Mohammed Aslam Shahul, 21, lost his balance and fell into the sea off a cliff while on vacation with his friends.

A child died in the Russian city of St Petersburg after falling from a fifth-floor fire escape he had climbed to take a selfie.

0 / 0
Sign in to unlock member-only benefits!
  • Access 10 free stories every month
  • Save stories to read later
  • Access to comment on every story
  • Sign-up/manage your newsletter subscriptions with a single click
  • Get notified by email for early access to discounts & offers on our products
Sign in

Comments

Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.

We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of The Hindu and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.