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Young Father, 19, Shot In The Throat And Killed While Snapping Selfies With Gun In Hand

By Shelley Hazen
Published on: 03:34 PST, Sep 2, 2015

Sometime Tuesday, teen Deleon Alonso Smith and his cousin found a gun. Later that day, Smith took some selfies as he posed with the weapon, until something went horribly wrong.

While taking selfies and posting them on social media, the gun discharged and struck the teen in the throat, killing him, KPRC reported.

He was 19.

“It’s a numb feeling. It’s still unbelievable. Yesterday was my birthday and he came to wish me happy birthday, and now this kind of news,” said Smith’s grandmother Alma Douglas.

The incident happened about 1:30 p.m. Tuesday in Houston. Police there are now investigating where the weapon was found. The owner has yet to be identified.

Local news reports are a bit inconsistent in their telling of how the incident occurred. According to the Dallas Morning News, he was taking selfies of himself and his cousin while holding the weapon. In that account, it appears as though the cousin was present when the firearm discharged.

KTRK reported the same — the teen snapped selfies of himself and another person when the gun went off. The station specified that the gun went off as the teen was posting the pictures to social media.

However, KPRC reported that the cousin was in the apartment, but in another room at the time.

Police have confiscated the teen’s cell phone as part of the investigation into the accidental shooting.

Meanwhile, Deleon has left behind two young daughters. He was father to two girls, aged 1 and 3, relatives told KTRK.

He was also scheduled to begin classes at Houston Community College Wednesday. Now, his family is left with the heavy task of grieving his death instead.

“It’s the worst feeling in my life,” said the victim’s uncle, Eric Douglas.

According to a previous Inquisitr report, selfie-related deaths are on the rise. Among those who’ve died snapping selfies: a man who was electrocuted as he snapped a photo of himself atop a train, a couple who fell off a cliff after capturing a vacation photo in Portugal, a Mexican man who shot himself in the head as he posed for a drunk selfie with a gun, and a woman who died in a car crash after posting a picture of herself singing “Happy” while driving.

[Photo Courtesy Twitter]

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