Mild-Mannered Law Student Gerald Ung Shoots Jock Six Times

• "Getting beat up"  IS  "serious bodily harm", unless you think it's just harmless fun to let a bunch of drunken strangers use you and your girlfriend any way they want to.  

• I heard one report it was a .380 auto, and 5 rounds were fired.  The Press are usually very ignorant about guns.  That's why they like the term "handgun", since they don't know the difference between a pistol and a revolver.

• Can we please get an update to the previous biased story from 1/22/10. It appears a jury of his peers has come in with the real verdict. Gerald Ung is innocent!

• some people are just retarted...if he wanted to kill him he would have finished the job and fled the scene and shot all his other friends instead of staying back and calling the police...case closed

• justanopinion, You think fear of just getting beaten up , is'nt fear of bodily harm. just what happens in your world when someone gets "just beaten up" . No brain damage, broken bones, cuts, bruses, no broken teeth, internal injuries, eye injuries? take the beating and sue. Good advice , the courts will put you brain together.

• You may be right. The video isn't that clear, and I don't know all the facts, so my opinion is kind of worthless anyway. I think it may have been insensitive to both parties to write about this without really knowing what was going on, so I am sorry for starting this up again.

• I never expect the articles here to be without bias, but the take here isn't supported by the video. It looked to me like the guy in the white hat tried to grab Ung's girlfriend. Since the big drunk guys outnumbered the group of smaller people, I'd say Ung was rightfully concerned. And yeah, it really does look like Didato attacked him, probably was trying to get the gun away from him. The way the pack of guys was moving behind Ung and his friends screams dangerous to me. The way white hat swooped around on the girl would have had my back up too. I'll be honest, I think Ung thought he and his friends were in serious danger of more than a black eye. Seeing that, I don't blame him.

• For attempted murder as a self defense there has to be reasonable fear of death or very serious bodily harm--not fear of "getting beat up." Unfortunately, if you can't protect yourself from getting beat up, the only thing you can do is take it and press charges and recover civilly in a suit. Apparently, there were words exchanged before the shooting. If the shooter thought that the person he shot was of the character would threaten serious bodily harm, he probably would not have engaged in a verbal dispute. There was nothing by the video that indicated there was a threat of bodily harm before the shooting either. It seems unreasonable that victim rushed the shooter solely to beat him up after he pulled the gun. How many people would try to beat someone up after pulling a gun? It looks more like the person wanted to stop the person with the gun from shooting the others. A person who pulls a gun is much more likely to cause serious harm than a person who did not. The person who rushed appears to have acted in defense of his friends with a reasonable reason, while the person who pulled the gun appears to have pulled it out for an unreasonable reason. There seems to be a few people who are bloodthirsty for "jocks" here, and I think that you are proving the case against the shooter. The person did not appear to be a ruthless gangbanger; he looked like a college "jock" athlete. It is not reasonable that a "jock" is going to cause serious bodily harm to the point to necessitate attempted murder as a self defense, regardless of a couple extreme incidents you might be able to find. It is not reasonable that a college jock is going to beat up a girl either. The shooter pulled the gun without being attacked. The shooter wasn't in his household and did have a duty to flee. He didn't ask his friends to run before pulling the gun. He pulled it. The victim rushed to stop him, and he shot the man. The shooter has a difficult case for self defense and probably will not win. You guys giving shit to the victim are assholes.

• Did anyone notice the individual in the white hat (on backwards, de rigueur) going out on the right flank. Nice move to make, if you want to surround your intended victims. He really showed initiative there. Funny how he didn't show any initiative at all after the shooting started. He didn't try to help his wounded buddy. He just stood there like a statue after his neat little plan to surround Ung didn't work out. Too bad --- he could have had a real fun night helping his pals to beat up Ung. Can anyone seriously think that Didonato didn't intend any harm to Ung ? Was he was only approaching, nose-to-nose, to get the serial number of the gun Ung was brandishing as a warning that he was prepared to shoot in self-defense ? It looks to me like his alcohol warped intention was that he was going to show his pals how tough he was by punching out Ung, and taking the gun away. Then his pals could beat and stomp Ung all they wanted. That stupidity, apparently based in a boozy dream of his, is what caused Didonato to be shot. And we are expected to believe he's a "Hero"? Yeah, right.

• The author of this article has put forth one of the most biased, one-sided reports imaginable, amateurish, I wouldn't be surprised if you were a part of Didonato's PR campaign. Clear cut case of self-defense. Philly-Hope your comments are completely ignorant and I wouldn't be surprised if you too were involved in the grand PR scheme put together by Didonato's well connected family. Hopefully real justice is served and Ung is acquitted and an assault charge finds its way to Mr. Didonato.

• Eddie has now found a job as a human colander. The restaurant people just poor the past down Eddies pie hole and the water strains out. Since Eddie might be drunk, he just has to upchuck the whole mess and there you go, rinsed spaghetti. Way to go Eddie. Duh!

• When you pull out a gun on an unarmed group you become the agressor. Is it better to be picked on (which according to the facts Ung started this whole fight) or to die? It's not self defense when you choose to take someone's life at the chance of losing a fight. It looked like Di was trying to disarm Ung and he probably was a little pissed about having a gun pulled on him.

• He was faced with multiple assailants of considerable size and aggression. In my mind, this would constitute a threat of serious injury or death. The fact that they pursued him for over a block should be enough to make any reasonable person believe that they wanted to cause him serious, debilitating injuries at a minimum. When Mr. Ung presented his weapon, he also stepped back and gave a verbal order for the others to step back. At the point the man rushed him, Mr. Ung was faced with the prospect of being beaten by multiple assailants as well being disarmed. When someone attempts to rush an armed individual and disarm him, it is not to admire it and say, "That's a very nice gun." Ung was fighting for control of his weapon and his life. As for suing the ammunition manufacturer/seller, the ammunition did its assigned job. This is not an action movie, a .38 Special has a low probability of stopping someone with one shot. Any armed professional, whether military, LEO, contractor, or armed security will tell you it will likely take multiple rounds to stop a determined assailant.

• If I were Ung I would sue the ammunition manufacturer and the seller. Those bullets didn't do their assigned job. Firing 6 of them and still having a living assailant means poor product and production control.

• Anyone who believes Didinato's PR story is a bigger idiot than didinato! This kid was probably drunk that night and when that man pulled a gun to protect himself AND all of didinato's friends backed away, drunken Eddie lunged at the man with the gun! Who in their right mind does that! A drunken fool.... That's who! Ung was protecting himself and Didinato is not a hero.... A bully, yes indeed! But cetainly not a "hero" . Stay away from alchohol kiddies or you may end up like Eddie boy! Shot up/ layed up in Jefferson hospital trying to spin stories to make himself look good. Alchohol gives you imaginary powers Eddie, you should have backed off like your buddies did!

• I am all for conceal carry permits. There are dangerous bullies out there that don't mind killing someone in their mob, wild dog pack rage. I remember some of my friends getting stomped badly by some drunk, hillbilly football players in college. Don't think these kind of folks won't kill someone. I hope Mr. Ung is acquitted of all charges and maybe bullies in Pennsylvania and elsewhere, consider the possibility that they won't be able to attack or kill law-abiding citizens.

• There is a video of the incident which Channel 29 Philadelphia aired, and it is porbably at their web site. It is from a security camera. The first poster said Mr. Ung made no attempt to run. This is not correct. The video shows him and his girlfriend being chased by 3 or more very large people. They are running away, then backing away from this mob. At that point Mr. Ung, who is a law student and licensed to carry. produces his pistol, and continues to back away from the mob. The mob rushes him anyway and one of the mob swings at him. At this point - and only at this point, after several attempts to retreat and finally a warning that he was armed, and the mob charging him anyway - Mr. Ung fires. I see no angry man stereotype or person looking to hurt someone. Mr Ung was protecting himself and his girlfriend from what I see. Had he not been armed what do you think a drunken mob that chased down him and his girlfriend wanted to do to them? I saw a man who had no choice forced to protect himself and someone he cared about. After the shooting as the other guys in the crowd chasing him had apparently taken off, having seen Mr. DiDonato shot after charging, Mr. Ung took out his cell phone and called help, the police to report the attack and the ambulance to take the attacker he had shot to the hospital. These are not the actions of a psychotic or a murderer. I would urge people to get the facts before leaping to conclusions.

• It is obvious a bunch of white jock think they can pick on an Asian kid like they did in HS. Just looking at the photos and the video clearly show who are the instigator. Rich white boy hooked on white privilege walking around making comments with impunity. Thank God for guns.

• From a blog posted Monday: Saw the video this morning on TV, and they lightened and enhanced the video and played it in slow motion. I played the slow motion version in even slower slow motion on my DVR. Here's what it shows, frame by frame: -From the viewer's perspective, DiDonato's party is at the top of the screen. Left to right is White Hat Jerkoff (WHJ), DiDonato's other friend in the middle, and DiDonato on the right.....and Ung's female friend on the left, Ung's other friend in the middle, and Ung on the right. -There's jawing going on between Ung's whole party and the WHJ. Every head is turned toward WHJ. DiDonato and his other friend have a nonchalant posture. WHJ is fired up and aggressive. -WHJ lunges at Ung, kinda fake, but right into the girl nonetheless. He could've ran that girl over, but he stopped... one of those fake "I'll fight you" type things. -Ung sees this, immediately draws his weapon. Ung's friend, still in the middle, kinda tries to box Ung away with his backside while giving a STOP sign with his palm to WHJ. -Ung wheels behind his friend with the gun still on WHJ. Ung's friend gets the heck out of there, leaving out the bottom of the screen. Ung makes it over to WHJ, gun drawn on him. The girl is to his left. -White Hat Jerkoff backs up a a few small paces and freezes. The girl stays directly in front of him, facing him with her back toward Ung. They're no longer involved and neither really move. The action continues behind the girl. -Ung then points the gun at Eddie Didonato's other friend, who is still nonchalantly walking until that point. Ung is walking backwards. -DiDonato side steps directly to his right in front of his friend who was in the middle and who the gun was pointed at, and keeps the same nonchalant pace with his hands to his side (This must be why his friends and family are saying he is a hero who took bullets for his friends. I think he's seen too many hostage negotiation movies, but heroic nonetheless). -WOW this is chilling. The gun is now on DiDonato, whose arms are still at his sides. His pace hasn't changed, still nonchalant, still slow. Ung is still slowly walking backwards, gun on him. Then BOOM out of nowhere, DiDonato drops straight to the ground like the floor fell beneath him. He never swung, made contact, or attempted to make contact. Ung just shot him. -When the shots go off, the girl turns around, sees what happens, and runs into Market Street with her head down. So does DiDonato's friend who he stepped infront of. WHJ stands there in absolute shock, not moving. He's completely froze. It's surreal. Ung opens fire, DiDonato goes down, DiDonato's friend and Ung's girlfriend run side by side with their heads down into Market Street, and WHJ is a statue at the top left of my screen, unable to move like a deer in headlights. -Unfortunately when he fell, he fell out the bottom of the camera's range. Ung opened fire right before he dropped out of the camera's view. There's no way of telling what happened after the first shot or two was fired. ** DiDonato's arms are visible and his pace never changes. He never "rushes" Ung. People saying that saw his movement change drastically at the end. That was him going down out of the bottom of the screen when he was shot, not him coming at the shooter like Lawrence Taylor on a blitz. This is people seeing what they want to see: some nerdy, urban-cool, Asian law student yupster vs. a well-built, white, yuppie, suburban athlete. They have a mental image of what each person is, and there's no way they're changing it. This is why a lot of people look stupid after the Duke lacrosse case. They see a profile of someone they hate, and they pile on when that person is down. It's like we never learn.

• This is the most biased, poorest journalistic effort I have ever seen. There is a video of the altercation, with the "jock" rushing at Ung. I recommend all readers to view the video and make your own judgments before blindly accepting Erich's garbage article.

• wow its sad that you cant just go out and not have to deal with drunken juicebags. If i was with my girl and about to get beat up by 3 drunken retards i would have done the same thing. If Ung didnt we be talken about him getting plastic surgey on his face and these 3 retards would be in cuffs. Hey DiDonato learn how to control how much u drink and not act like a drunken retard. Im 27 and i party and drink with the best of them. I also have a permit to carry and never have any problem.....grow up america it was self defense and DiDonato got what was comin to him.

• I call shenanigans on DiDonato's PR story about him "shielding" his friends. Watch the video, http://www.myfoxphilly.com/dpp/news/local_news/Old_City_Shooting_01_17_10, watch it a few times. The quality isn't great, so you need a few viewings to understand all the movement. DiDonato doesn't step in front of his friends to shield them, he doesn't hold them back. He rushes and attacks Ung. Ung doesn't fire a shot until DiDonato attacks him. Thank god for this video. DiDonato and his politically connected family would have had no misgivings about riding Ung out on a rail if not for the video. Ung should thank his lucky stars that the camera was there.

• To NotableMentions, or to anyone else for that matter, considering this is the internet, and you shouldn't trust just any random "expert" off the internet, me included, then try this exercise. Take a copy of the video from the incident, or the url link. Go find several self defense or weapon self defense instructors near where you live. Go and show them the video, and ask them, is this a scenario that could have easily gone bad for Mr. Ung. Ask them what are the chances for survival in a multiple attack scenario with two or three men who are either slightly or mostly intoxicated. What are the chances that this can easily turn into a multiple assault/deadly homicide situation for Mr. Ung. If that doesn't help, go ask your local police personal defense trainer or hand to hand combat expert. They will tell you. And I'll bet nine times out of ten, you'll hear what I've posted. Ask as many as you need to.

• To NotableMentions Of course I'm going to have a bias. I'm biased because I teach self defense, and this was a very clear and dangerous situation that Mr. Ung had to defend against. Now, whereas I'm operating as an individual who's concerned about how this case is going to impact my rights as an individual to defend myself in a bad situation litigation wise, doesn't it bother you, NotableMentions, that Didonato's family hired a PR rep? Ung has no such thing, no access to that kind of money, and nothing other than us random joes who are upset that there's a clear video on the web, that by now thousands have seen, that by now, most people in the polls see as self defense, and yet the stories in the news and the comments that get put out are clearly uneducated as to how self defense works. Let me ask you this, and put yourself in this situation. You're on the street at 2:30 AM. You were hounded by three drunk men. They've harassed you for a block or so. Wouldn't you be scared? Wouldn't you want to take measures to defend your life? I sure as hell would. I'd be scared as hell. That's why I post that information, because a lot of people have no idea what being in a multiple attack situation is like. How many people take a self defense class? Ever been to one? Go to one and tell us, how many people are in one. Not a lot. And yet in those classes, they CLEARLY outline situations and what to do, and how bad those situations can get. Do I have a bias? Hell yes I have bias. I'm biased to wards those who take measures to defend themselves, and get caught up in bad laws, or in this case, people with political power and strings as well as connections that make what is obviously self defense,to present the "victim" as the hero. When the "victim" was part of the perpetration. Go look at the video. Watch it as many times as you need to. Again, that's a three on one scenario. The White hat guy was assailant one, and the one who in the video initiated it. Didonato was assailant two. The third guy was a bit further back. Multiple attackers. And if you want to consult expert testimony, they'll tell you exactly what I posted. "Studies show that assaults are more likely to escalate into homicides when there are multiple attackers, particularly when the attackers are juveniles." And that's a scary, scary situation to be in. No one should ever be in that kind of situation, and that's the situation Ung found himself in. If you don't like my bias, that's your problem.

• I feel Dave Nordquist is bias. He has posted on this story on several sites. I'm not saying I know the truth or even want to argue about a situation I clearly was not at. But it does bother me how "loudly" Dave argues on Ung's behalf.

• Here are some salient facts about the dangers of multiple attackers, which is what Ung had to face that night. This is taken from a self defense web page, http://www.defendu.com/multiple_attackers.htm "Facing Multiple Attackers? Styles, Attributes and Strategies for Successful Self-Defense By Brad Parker It's the nightmare of most martial artists – facing multiple attackers. Popular martial arts movies and television shows routinely show the hero defeating multiple attackers, often with entertaining moves and running comedic dialog. However, this is no joking matter when you are faced with multiple opponents. Studies show that assaults are more likely to escalate into homicides when there are multiple attackers, particularly when the attackers are juveniles. Whether this is because the victim is absorbing multiple trauma or because the wolf pack mentality of the group causes the fight to go far beyond the limits that a single attacker would go, I cannot say. But if you are faced with multiple attackers you are in deep, deep, trouble. Multiple attackers mean angles, weapons and levels of attack increase exponentially, not just by the sum of the number of attackers. Four attackers don't just mean you have to worry about four times the trouble, now you have 16 times as many weapons to contend with." The most salient quote from this article is this. "Studies show that assaults are more likely to escalate into homicides when there are multiple attackers, particularly when the attackers are juveniles." Or in the case of Didonato and crew, drunk. Ung was facing off against this. Put yourself in Ung's shoes. You're with your girlfriend. You've been accosted and harrassed by this group. Now one of them lunges into you. If that still doesn't help, read the webpage, or better yet, take a self defense course or a weapons self defense course. A very good quote about the difficulty and dangerous situation of facing down multiple assailants like Didonato and his crew is this. Also from the webpage. "The disadvantages of facing multiple opponents are staggering. When we've run training drills with two, three and four opponents against one, it is literally a few seconds before the one defender is swamped by the group. Yes, there are theories that say that multiple opponents get in each other's way, but my experience is that as you are moving to line up two of them, you end up moving right into one of the other ones. Sometimes you just have to be practical and heed the advice of the Brazilian who told me, "More than one, use a gun.""

• It's a sad state of affairs when people think that a criminal, intent on committing murder or some other violent crime, is going to be deterred by a firearms charge. Or that a criminal will agree to be photographed at the police station (and fingerprinted in some states) to carry a gun legally. As for this case, the video shows a situation of self-defense, and the D.A has realistically little chance of winning this case at trial.

• Haha. Goes to show you, act like a dbag drunk with your buddies, you never know who's gonna pop you! Fags , Good for Ung.

• Don't they issue handguns at orientation to everyone who goes to Temple in case they want to walk off campus?

• This had to be over more than someone doing a chin up on some scaffolding. Something is missing. Maybe something happened while they were partying or before then, I dont know, but something doesnt add up. Especially if he was supposidly a mild mannered individual- something set him off and it had to be more than a chin up. I pray for a full and easy recovery for DiDanoto, I find it very heroic that he shielded his friends from the gunfire. God bless.

• Rohara you're ignorance is showing. You don't charge at someone with a gun especially after following and accosting them. @ Sad day in Phila, so your alternative to noone having a gun is let the government have full control? Ever heard of the right to bear arms?

• Although I feel bad for mr didonato, he should have backed off after ung drew his weapon. This appears to be legal self defense notwithstanding who the initiator of the incident was. Lesson to draw from all this: learn to control yourself when drinking or stop drinking

• Right over top? Tell that to Dave Sale. And this didn't involve weapons other than hands and feet. http://www.reddit.com/r/reddit.com/comments/9523m/memorial_fund_for_dave_sale_22yr_old_beaten_to/ It's 2:30 AM on the streets of Philadelphia. A drunken group looking to make trouble at that hour is not a group just looking to rumble and have fun, eg. Didonato's group. You don't tag behind people accosting them for a block or two, physically lunge into them, and then assume that people will think you're joking. That is not something to take lightly, not at any hour, and not especially at that hour. Ever been on the streets at that hour in West Philly, Market, or anywhere in Philadelphia? Do you have any idea how much violence occurs in Philadelphia? Did you know there were over 3 hundred murders randomly in Philadelphia in 2007? That's why one in six philadelphians carry a hand gun. Probably 3 out of 6 carry some kind of personal defense weapon, me included. What Ung did was street smart, and he had to defend not just himself, but also his girlfriend. What Didonato's group did, accosting and initiating the encounter was street stupid, but then again, they were probably drunk.

• here is a link to some video. it doesnt appear like ung is the aggressor here: http://www.myfoxphilly.com/dpp/news/local_news/Old_City_Shooting_01_17_10 but give me a break, to even pull the gun seems waaay over the top based on what that video shows. id be pissed as well if i were didonato and someone pulled a gun on me.

• It wasn't necessarily used in a deadly manner if he was shot six times and is still alive. I really have no need for guns in my life and could live forever without one around me. I also understand how deadly they can be, but in this case, death has not occurred. At least not yet.

• It is a sad state of affairs when we permit people to walk our streets armed with deadly weapons. THat being said; I reviewed the surveillance tape. It does appear that Mr. DiDonato lunges at the shooter in a manner of offensive attack. Perhaps Mr. Ung felt the need to protect himself. To bad though that Ung decided to use a gun. I do venture to guess that Mr. DiDonato will think twice before attcking people in the future.

• LOL Jesus, you guys crack me up. It was Ung, his friend, and a girl. Then DiDonato and two friends. Ung is shown in a recently released video going after them and being held back from his friends. Yeah, very mild mannered indeed. More like a ticking time bomb. The story is out. The victim's friend did a chin up on the scaffolding. Ung walked by and said something to him. The two groups jawed at each other walking in the same direction. Someone in DiDonato's party lunges at Ung after Ung lunges at DiDonato's party. Both groups successfully hold their friends back. Jawing continues with nobody being surrounded. Ung pulls a gun. DiDonado tries to disarm him, which apparently makes him an attacker? LOL. OK.

• What kind of an idiot ditches a weapon when their life is in danger? If you look at the video, you can clearly see that Ung was with his girlfriend. What kind of a boyfriend runs when his girlfriend and him are in danger? Not a good one I can tell you that. Ung also clearly backpedals with the weapon, and withholds shooting it until DiDonato is within a foot range. That's standard protocol. Only drunk fool rushes a man with a gun. The fact that Ung backed off, and didn't shoot demonstrates a warning posture, not an aggression posture. Also, Ung didn't pull the pistol until the first physical assault was made by the other party. That's also standard, you don't make a threat until you've been attacked.

• Isn't a 38 a revolver? If so, then this wasn't a quick burst of six shots at Mr. DiDonato. I haven't seen the video, but i sure hope that this ends well.

• If you actually watch the video it is very clear this is self defense. You can argue that Mr. Ung had other options or could have run or that his choice of self defense was excessive. However, the video clearly shows a 4 on 1 fight which escalates to Mr. Ung pulling his gun and not firing until Mr. DiDonato starts punching him and knocks him to the ground. I hope both men live productive lives after this.

• So a mild mannered, peaceable type guy whose had a permit to carry a concealed weapon for a long time but gone around shooting it or even displaying it has several drunken(?) revelers rush at him? He must have thought he was in danger. He made no attempt to run or ditch the weapon.

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