The shooting death of a 19-year-old man in Madison County may have been a case of Russian roulette, the Athens Banner-Herald reported.

Rodney Howard Jr., 19, of Clarkesville, died at a birthday party Sunday night, according to Lt. Steve Kimbel of the Madison County Sheriff’s Office. The shooting appears to be accidental, the newspaper reported.

A deputy arrived at a house north of Danielsville to find the victim on a bedroom floor with a small-caliber handgun next to him, according to the sheriff’s report.

Howard was in a bedroom and about a dozen people were in the house when the shooting occurred, the deputy said.

A witness told the deputy that Howard grabbed the revolver, spun the cylinder, slammed the cylinder shut, put the barrel to his head and pulled the trigger, according to the report.

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