Hearing for law student in January Old City shooting

A friend of Edward DiDonato Jr., victim of an Old City shooting in January, testified Friday that he thought his buddy had been fatally wounded after being shot five times just minutes after leaving a bar.

"Eddie told me he was going to die, and I believed him," Seth Webster told the court during a hearing for the man charged in the shooting, Gerald Ung, 28.

Ung, a third-year Temple University law student, was arrested in January.

Judge David Shuter ordered Ung to stand trial May 7 on charges of attempted murder and aggravated assault.

Ung sat silently through the preliminary hearing as he listened to Webster's account of the Jan. 17 shooting.

DiDonato, 23, a Villanova University graduate, has been in a rehabilitation center since March 2, according to Assistant District Attorney Jan McDermott. McDermott said that DiDonato suffers from paralysis in parts of his lower extremities and that four of the five bullets remain in his body. He has undergone 10 operations.

The shooting happened in front of the Fox29 TV studio, at Fourth and Market Streets, and was captured on a surveillance camera.

Webster testified that he, DiDonato, and two other friends left Lucy's bar in the 200 block of Market Street just past midnight and were looking for a cab. Webster said he had had about four beers and two shots at the bar.

Webster said that as the group walked on Market Street, one friend began doing pull-ups on construction scaffolding on the sidewalk. He said "a small Asian female" who was walking with Ung and another man attempted pull-ups as well.

The two groups of friends had never come into contact before that moment, Webster said.

He testified that Ung said, "Nice hair, broski," and, "I'm not from around here," in a "threatening" manner to the group.

Webster said, "I kept telling Ung to keep walking, buddy," and told him they did not want any trouble. He said he and his friends allowed Ung's group to pass in front of them but that Ung continued to harass them.

He testified that Ung turned toward his group but was restrained by his two friends.

Webster said he still did not know why the argument began or what else was said near the scaffolding. As Ung was being restrained, one of DiDonato's friends approached him and the two had a physical confrontation, Webster said.

Ung then pulled a gun and told the crowd to back up, Webster said. He said DiDonato responded, "Who are you going to shoot?"

DiDonato and Ung began to fight and Ung shot DiDonato five times in the upper body, Webster said.

He said he ran for cover behind a mailbox and watched as the two men fought on the street.

"Ung was on the ground and he was still shooting Eddie," Webster said. "Eddie was moving toward him still, trying to tackle the gun from him, I assume."

Soon after DiDonato fell, Ung went to his side, put a hand on his knee, and called 911, Webster said. Ung stayed at the scene while both groups waited for help to arrive, Webster said.

Webster said Ung's friends advised him to apply pressure to DiDonato's wounds.

Ung's lawyer, Jack McMahon, asked that the charge of attempted murder be dismissed, arguing that his client shot DiDonato in self-defense.

Shuter will rule in early May on the request. The judge dismissed two gun charges against Ung because he had a permit from his home state of Virginia that allowed him to carry a handgun.