Police believe fatal shooting was self-inflicted accident

GIRARD -- Police think the weekend shooting death of a 40-year-old Girard man was accidental.
Frederick Hinchman, of 106 1/2 E. Main St., suffered a bullet wound of the chest at home shortly before 5 a.m. Sunday.
"We believe the shooting was accidental," Capt. Frank Bigowsky said today. "We're 95 percent sure."
Hinchman was found lying on the kitchen floor.
Bigowsky said Hinchman and his girlfriend, Lynn Groves, had been out drinking. When they returned home, they began playing cards in the kitchen.
Hinchman decided to get his semi-automatic pistol from a closet, the detective explained.
Groves told police she heard a gunshot and Hinchman staggered into the kitchen and fell on the floor.
The gun's safety was off and there was a round in the chamber, Bigowsky said, noting the bullet that passed through his chest and lower back was found inside the closet.
An autopsy will be performed by the Cuyahoga County Coroner's Office because Mahoning County no longer has a forensic pathologist on staff.