police at the scene
The investigation is expected to last for several days iStock

A teenager in the US has died after being shot dead in a game of Russian roulette.

The teen was found by police on New Year's Day with a gunshot wound to the head in the city of Sherwood in Oregon.

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According to the Sunshine Coast Daily, the game involved loading a gun with a single bullet and pulling the trigger depending on how the cylinder spins.

Officials were called to the house at around 4am on Monday 1 January after initial reports of a possible suicide.

As the incident unfolded, police found that the teenager had died while playing the popular betting game.

Sherwood Police Captain Ty Hanlon said: "It appears that he brought a handgun with him and from witnesses' account that he was playing a game known as Russian roulette. We believe that he showed up and initiated this all on his own."

By the time paramedics arrived at the Carriage Park Estates, the teenager was already dead.

The gun was confirmed to have not been fully loaded when the shot was fired and it is also not known where the boy was able to obtain the firearm.

Others were with the boy when he shot himself, but were not thought to have been playing the game with him.

The people with the teen are thought to have been in their early 20s and from the Marion County area.

Background checks are being undertaken to determine whether the boy had any previous suicidal tendencies.

The investigation is expected to last several days.