A 10-year-old boy accidentally shot himself in the head while playing with his uncle’s gun in Brazil.

The fatal incident occurred during a family get-together at a rural property in Juatuba, Minas Gerais state, south-eastern Brazil on 22nd October.

Tragic Gabriel Gustavo de Souza Mota was playing with his cousin in a room when he stood on a stool and took his uncle’s firearm from the top of a wardrobe.

While playing with the gun against his cousin’s advice, he inadvertently shot himself in the head, the girl later told police.

As soon as they heard the gunshot, the adults present rushed to the room and saw Gabriel lying on the floor with a wound on his head.

They took him to the local general hospital, but he sadly succumbed to his injuries.

Police later seized the firearm, which was legally owned, as part of the ongoing investigation.

The uncle – a Military Police officer – told Military Police that “when he arrived at the rural property, he put his belongings in the room where the incident occurred.

“And his firearm was stored, by him, in the wardrobe, in the upper part, a place of difficult access, holstered and locked.”

The school Gabriel attended suspended all classes on 24th October so staff and students could mourn his passing.

Etelvina de Oliveira Guimaraes Municipal School said in a statement: “May the family, friends and teachers of this exemplary student, who left eternal memories in the hearts of everyone who had the privilege of knowing him, be comforted.”