The Hamilton County Coroner has released more details about the shooting death of 18-year-old Ryan Hinton, who was shot and killed by a Cincinnati Police officer on May 1.
In a press conference Monday, Dr. Lakshmi Sammarco revealed the preliminary autopsy report that outlines the location of gunshot wounds on Hinton’s body. The location of the wounds is important information as internal investigators, the Citizen’s Complaint Authority and the Hamilton County Prosecutor’s Office review the shooting. Hinton was running from CPD officers during a stolen car investigation in East Price Hill when an officer fired five rounds at Hinton, who was armed. CPD Chief Teresa Theetge said the officer fired because he saw Hinton point a gun at him, but this is difficult to see in the shaky body camera video provided by the department.
“The officer is running, so the body camera’s kind of jolting as the officer’s running,” Theetge said. “What that leaves us with is very blurred image, unfortunately. However, based on the officer’s interviews, the officer who did discharge his firearm said when the individual came out between the dumpsters, he had the firearm in front of him, he’s in like a bladed position, and it was pointed at the officer, and he felt threatened for his life, and that’s why he discharged his firearm.”
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Keep scrolling to watch the body camera footage.
Preliminary autopsy findings
Hinton’s autopsy revealed three entrance gunshot wounds and two exit wounds, but it’s possible Hinton was only struck by two bullets, according to Sammarco. These are the three gunshot wounds listed on the preliminary autopsy report:
1) Left forearm – entrance and exit, soft tissue only
2) Left lateral chest below the armpit, through the heart
3) Right postero-lateral chest, adjacent to the shoulder, soft tissue only ending just below skull
Sammarco said the first two wounds on this list are possibly from the same bullet; first passing through his arm and then entering his side. She said this was the fatal shot and his cause of death; the official manner of death is classified as a homicide.
“It’s possible that the same bullet traversed the left forearm and into the left side of the chest,” she said. “It was straight from the side–this is mid-lateral side. If you’re asking why did it go toward the front, it did contact a rib on the way. As you know, when projectiles – you can talk to somebody who’s a physics expert or a firearms expert – when they hit something solid, they tend to deflect.”
Reporters press for specifics on bullet wound near Hinton’s back
Pieces of that bullet were recovered during the autopsy, but the only whole bullet recovered from Hinton’s body was recovered from the base of his neck. It was this wound that sparked questions from reporters trying to understand where exactly the “right postero-lateral chest, adjacent to the shoulder” is located.
“Can you point to where it is on the body?” one reporter asked.
“I didn’t do the autopsy, I’m looking at the report,” Sammarco said. “This is what I’ve got from our pathologist.”
“I’m a little still confused on the second one that hit him in the shoulder, ” one reporter asked a few minutes later. “Where did that enter?”
“I said upper postero-lateral chest,” Sammarco responded.
“[I don’t know] exactly where that is,” the reporter said.
“Go look it up,” Sammarco said.
Online medical resources indicate “postero-lateral chest” refers to the back of the body (posterior) and towards the side (lateral).
A reporter asked Sammarco, “So, you’re saying he was shot in the back?”
“No, I said he was shot in the right postero-lateral, near the shoulder,” Sammarco replied.
Based on anatomical terminology published by Oregon State University, CityBeat circled the area of the body described in the preliminary autopsy as “right postero-lateral chest, adjacent to the shoulder” and showed it to several medical professionals. These medical professionals, speaking on background, agreed the circled area is representative of the terminology used by the coroner’s office. CityBeat asked the coroner’s office if this image is an accurate representation of the approximate area of the gunshot wound, but did not hear back by deadline.
Monday’s press conference was supposed to happen on Friday, but Sammarco received a rare grand jury subpoena preventing her from discussing investigation details. She said this was a first for her career.
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“In my 13 years as coroner, I have never been served with a grand jury subpoena,” she said. “I believe, at least in the history of Hamilton County in the last 40 years, that hasn’t happened to any of the coroners.”
The full autopsy report has not yet been released as the coroner’s office awaits more test results. Sammarco said Hinton’s family has also sought out an independent autopsy.
Hamilton County prosecutor Connie Pillich is investigating the shooting death of Ryan Hinton, which kicked off a shocking chain of events involving Hinton’s father, ending in the death of Hamilton County Deputy Larry Henderson. Read more about the death of Deputy Henderson here.
WARNING, GRAPHIC: Watch the body camera footage from the shooting death of Ryan Hinton below.
Follow CityBeat’s staff news writer Madeline Fening on Instagram. Got a news tip? Email mfening@citybeat.com.
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This article appears in May 14-27, 2025.
