Story By:  Ana Marjanovic, Sub-Editor: Michael Leidig, Agency:  Newsflash

A 17-year-old boy was killed when his pal shot him in the face in a suspected game of Russian roulette.

The shocking incident took place in the Sao Benedito neighbourhood of the city of Santo Antonio de Jesus in north-eastern Brazil at around 6.30pm on Tuesday, 31st May.

The two boys were inside a home when the fatal shot was fired.

Police named the victim as Wemerson Cardoso da Silva but would not reveal whose residence it was or whom the gun belonged to.

Officers later had to rescue the 15-year-old boy who had fired the shot from a mob that was threatening to lynch him.

After the shot, neighbours rushed the teen to the Santo Antonio de Jesus Regional Hospital, but he died of his injuries.

Hours later, the mother of the boy who fired the shot went looking for a police car in the neighbourhood.

Upon finding some officers, she said she wanted to take her son to the police station but was unable to because of the neighbours threatening him.

The cops accompanied the woman to her home before taking both mother and son – not named by police – to the local police station.

During questioning, the boy told officers the shot was unintentional and that they were just “playing”.

At the time of reporting, a request to provisionally send him to a youth detention centre had been made but was still pending judicial approval.

The school Wemerson attended – Coopeducar – suspended all classes yesterday (Wednesday, 1st June) so students and staff could mourn him.

The teen was buried later that day.

In a statement, the school wrote: “In this moment of deep pain, we express our condolences to his family and friends.”