San Diego

A 16-year-old boy died Tuesday after shooting himself in the head while playing Russian roulette with two other teen-agers, police said.

The victim was identified as Michael Lee Maldonado of the 8500 block of Iverson Street.

Russian roulette is played with a revolver in which only one chamber is loaded. Players take turns pulling the trigger.

The youth was playing the game with two others--identified only as a 14-year-old boy and 16-year-old girl--in an apartment in the 8500 block of Larkdale Avenue, police said. The fatal shot was fired at about 4:30 p.m., authorities said.

The teen-ager was pronounced dead at Mercy Hospital at 5:05 p.m., a hospital spokeswoman said.

San Diego police and the Naval Investigative Service were investigating the incident, which occurred in U.S. Navy housing, authorities said.