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A teenage girl accidentally shot herself in the face while taking a selfie with her dad's gun, say police.

The Moscow schoolgirl survived the horrific accident but is in hospital with serious facial injuries including a broken jaw.

Reports say the 13-year-old took her father’s pistol without his permission.

She locked herself in her bedroom to take the photo, with plans to post it on social media to impress her friends.

But the gun went off accidentally and she suffered a broken jaw as a result, say detectives.

(Image: east2west news)

Her parents heard the shot and ran to her room in the family's country house at Mytishchi in Moscow.

Olga Vradyi, an official with the Russian Investigative Committee, said: “She accidentally squeezed the trigger and shot herself in the face.”

The incident came during Russia’s extended New Year public holidays.

The girl and her parents were not named.

(Image: east2west news)

Her father now faces legal action by the Russian authorities for failing to keep the “nonlethal” gun properly secured.

He had a license for the weapon which he said was to protect his wife and daughter from intruders at their country house.

By law he should have kept it in a locked case, say reports.