John Nunez, 17, was fatally shot in the head just after 5:10 a.m. Monday inside a home at 1346 Prospect Avenue in Morrisania.
Police responded to the shooting at the residence on Prospect Avenue and pronounced Nunez dead at the scene.
Police are searching for a 16-year-old male who fled the apartment after the shooting, described as medium height and last seen wearing a light-colored T-shirt and beige shorts.
Detectives believe the two teens were handling a firearm when it discharged, killing Nunez.
The pair appeared to have been fooling around with the lethal weapon when it fired, according to law enforcement sources.
No arrests have been made.
It was not immediately clear how the friends obtained the weapon.
Sources familiar with the investigation reported that the teen and a friend had been playing around with a gun when it suddenly went off.
Another teen was being questioned by police, but no arrests had been made at the time of initial reporting.
In the viral moment early Monday morning, two teenagers were inside a Bronx apartment on Prospect Avenue when they began handling a firearm.
The gun suddenly discharged during what police described as horseplay between the two friends.
One teen, identified as John Nunez, suffered a gunshot wound directly to the head.
He was pronounced dead at the scene by emergency medical personnel who arrived within minutes.
The second teen, 16 years old, immediately fled the apartment following the shooting.
The circumstances surrounding the shooting remain under investigation as detectives work to determine exactly what transpired in those final moments.
Devastated women were seen sobbing and embracing at the scene of the deadly shooting Monday morning.
The investigation remains ongoing.