Woman shoots herself in head with a pistol while taking selfie

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.