Sherman Lackland (pictured), 21, was arrested and charged with aggravated assault, reckless endangerment and unlawful possession of a weapon

A 17-year-old boy is fighting for his life at a Tennessee hospital Saturday night after a botched attempt at an Internet craze left him in a critical condition.

Sherman Lackland, 21, was arrested and charged with aggravated assault, reckless endangerment and unlawful possession of a weapon after he accidentally shot his friend in the head while enacting his rendition of the 'No Lackin Challenge.'

The fad, which has been popping up on social media with greater frequency over the past several months, shows young people pulling guns on one another and filming the response.

Participants are not suppose to fire on one another.

The term refers to 'lacking' a gun or fire arm, a way to test the readiness of an individual should they need a firearm to protect themselves or use for a more sinister purpose.

The 'no lackin' fad shows young people pulling guns on one another and filming the response. A video uploaded to YouTube (not of the Memphis incident) is seen above

The term refers to 'lacking' a gun or fire arm, a way to test the readiness of an individual should they need a firearm. A still from a video uploaded to YouTube is seen above

The pair were sitting in a booth at E's Cafe in Memphis around 5.15pm Thursday evening when the incident occurred, local police told CBS affiliate WREG 13.

'All young kids,' said Ron Eanes, area manager at E's Cafe. 'They were sitting there talking, and they started showing each other a gun and it accidentally went off.'

Eanes added: 'Such stupidity. Anybody could get hurt.'

Luckily for the wounded teenager, a doctor happened to be eating inside the restaurant when the gun went off, and immediately tended to the boy's care.

The 17-year-old was then taken to Methodist University Hospital, situated across the street from the diner, and treated inside the ER. The boy remains in critical condition.

Witness Thomas Fitzpatrick told the broadcaster: '[There was] a real loud bang, then I see the guy across from [Lackland] fall in the floor.

'He started grabbing him and telling him to get up and then he was kind of mad and was swinging stools and stuff.'

Other dangerous fads have been sweeping the internet including the Tide Pod challenge, where teenagers dare each other to eat laundry detergent pouches, and the Ice and Salt challenge where young people have been left suffering from extreme burns similar to frostbite.