Police trying to trace gun after teen kills himself live on Instagram

FOREST PARK, Ga. — Forest Park police say a teenage boy accidentally shot and killed himself while his friends were watching him on social media.

Police told Channel 2's Nefertiti Jaquez they are still trying to track down where the boy got the gun and are trying to trace it back to the owner.

Malachi Hemphill was 13 years old. Investigators said he was playing with a gun while broadcasting on Instagram Live, when the gun went off in what appears to be an accident, killing the teen.

The boy's mother told detectives that she heard a loud noise and ran into her son's room and saw the unthinkable.

The gun, a 9 mm Hi-Point semi-automatic pistol, was found next to the boy's body. His cellphone was still broadcasting.

“Detectives are investigating how Malachi came into the possession of the gun,” Maj. Chris Matson, with the Forest Park Police Department, told Jaquez.

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Medics rushed the boy to the hospital, but there was nothing doctors could do.

Now police are working to figure out who that gun belonged to and how the teen got it.

“Depending on where the investigation leads, criminal charges are definitely a possibility,” Matson said.

Police are asking parents to discuss with their children the dangers of playing with guns.

They're also asking parents to stay on top of their children's social media activity as well, in light of Hemphill’s death.

Cox Media Group