A Georgia middle school student accidentally shot and killed himself after showing off the weapon on Instagram, according to reports from CBS News.
Malachi Stephens, 13, traded his iPhone for a handgun just four days before the shooting, according to reports.
“That is my godson, Malachi. He was 13 years old and he was in his bedroom playing with a gun on Instagram Live,” Shantiera Bankston told the local CBS affiliate in Atlanta. “He was full of life, he was a good kid, very active, loved dancing.”
Family members consider the shooting an accident and believe the fatal incident would have been prevented if someone had spoken up.
Stephens was discovered by his mother when she kicked down his bedroom door and found her son on the floor.
“When the accident happened inside that room, he was fighting from the time it happened, before the ambulance got here, he was still fighting,” said the boy’s father, Ernest Stephens.
Malachi later died at an Atlanta hospital from the self-inflicted gunshot wound.
Local authorities are still investigating the matter.
