13-yr-old boy accidentally shoots himself dead on Instagram Live as dozens of his horrified friends watched

A schoolboy has died after accidentally shooting himself on Instagram Live in front of his horrified friends.

Malachi Hemphill, 13, was recording himself in his bedroom on Monday evening when the tragedy occurred.

He reportedly started handling a gun, while his pals watched and sent him messages via the social media site.

But as he "tried to put a clip in" the weapon, it suddenly went off, causing him to fall to the ground in a pool of blood.

Malachi's shocked mum, Shaniqua Stephens, ran upstairs after hearing a "big boom" at their home in Georgia, US.

She said she and her daughter kicked in the teen's door and found him lying on the floor, surrounded by blood.

"My daughter screamed and said, ‘Mom, turn his phone off!'," a devastated Shaniqua told WXIA news station .

"As I proceeded to look at his phone, he was on Instagram Live."

As Malachi was taken to hospital, dozens of kids from the area reportedly rushed to his home, after witnessing the shooting live.

“There was about 40 to 50 kids outside," Shaniqua said.

Despite doctors' best efforts, the teenager did not survive his injuries.

His mum said she had been told that he was trying to put a clip in the gun when it suddenly went off, killing him.

She added that she did not know how her son had got hold of the weapon, and that the shooting was an accident.

Detectives investigating the horrifying incident are trying to work out where the gun came from, WXIA reports.

Just moments before the fatal shooting, Malachi had reportedly taken out the rubbish at his home in Forest Park.

His mum now wants to warn other parents to monitor their children's activity to prevent a similar tragedy from happening.