Man falls down stairs while holding gun, unintentionally shoots himself and dies

28-year-old Philip McCarthy, of Farmington, New Hampshire was getting ready to clean his semi-automatic handgun. He was unloading the gun when he tripped and fell down some stairs. According to police:

It appeared based upon our investigation that the victim was clearing his weapon, unloading his weapon, and there was one round left in the weapon, in the chamber. He fell while going down the stairs and during the course of hte fall, something occurred that caused the weapon to discharge, striking him in the head.

McCarthy's girlfriend found him on the landing in his apartment and called 911. McCarthy was declared dead about an hour later.
The police chief urged the community to be cautious when handling weapons, to prevent fatal accidents such as this in the future.