A teen from Brazil has tragically lost his life after a gun he made himself following online tutorials exploded when he tried it and left the gun barrel sticking out of his head.

Matheus Felipe Pereira, 13, died in his home in the district of Sao Pedro da Garca, Montes Claros area, in the state of Minas Gerais, in southeastern Brazil on Tuesday night, 25th October.

The boy’s lifeless body was reportedly found with the gun barrel stuck in his forehead behind a salt storage facility by his father.

Despite the father’s efforts to save him, Matheus was proclaimed dead when emergency crews came on site.

Military Police officers who were also called upon suspected that the boy attempted to test the weapon but the blast left the barrel embedded in his skull.

It is unclear if the gun blew apart with the barrel flying free and striking him or whether the weapon had ricocheted backwards.

The father later told investigators that the boy was very intelligent and used to create his own toys.

But he claimed he was not aware that his 13-year-old son had built the homemade weapon.

The Civil Police then handed over young Matheus’ body to the Forensic Medical Institute (IML) in the city of Montes Claros.

The boy’s mother named Ana Cristina Pereira told media that Matheus used to watch videos on YouTube very often.

She suspected that the teenage boy followed an online tutorial on how to assemble the gun.

She said: “I believe he looked it up on YouTube, because he only lived with his cell phone in his hand.

“His phone has a password. I always wanted to look, but I didn’t know the password.

“So I imagine he researched it, because he didn’t know anything about it.”

Shooting instructor Lorenzzo Castro considers the usage of homemade weapons dangerous especially in cases where people have not had the proper training.

Castro said: “Use by children is even worse, because the child has no idea what the danger of having a gun is, let alone how to handle it.”

He also emphasised that possession of homemade crafted weapons, also known as artisanal weapons, is considered a crime.

The shooting instructor added: “For the common weapon, the penalty for possession is two to four years.

“As for the artisanal weapon, it takes three to six years, as it is seen as more serious.”

Civil Police officials reported they are investigating the case.

The autopsy results have not been disclosed yet.