Dispute over damage to car preceded fatal shooting in Homewood

A Pittsburgh man will face trial in connection with a fatal shooting in Homewood in October.

Safon Gump, 24, of East Liberty was held for court Friday following a preliminary hearing on homicide and other charges.

Police said Gump killed Gregory Prince, 38, of Homewood after a conversation about damage to the victim’s car.

Gump was arrested last month and charged with homicide, tampering with evidence and a gun crime.

Attorney Owen Seman, who represents Gump, did not return a call Friday seeking comment.

ShotSpotter, the gunshot detection system, reported 12 rounds of gunfire around 9:30 p.m. Oct. 4 in the 7000 block of Race Street, a criminal complaint said.

Police found Prince laying on the ground and unresponsive, the complaint said. He had been shot several times.

Prince was pronounced dead at the scene about 15 minutes after the ShotSpotter alert.

A witness told police they were speaking on the phone with Prince at the time of the shooting.

While on the phone, Prince walked out of his house to talk with a driver who had hit his car a week earlier, police said. The witness stayed on the phone.

“Did you hit my vehicle the other day?” Prince asked, according to the witness’ account in the complaint.

The driver laughed, the complaint said.

“No, it wasn’t me,” the driver responded, the witness told police.

Then, the phone went silent.

A nearby doorbell camera captured the sound of multiple gunshots, the complaint said. It also showed a white car speeding away from the scene.

Multiple city-owned cameras captured that car speeding through Pittsburgh, police said.

The vehicle’s license plate led to Gump, according to the complaint.

Video in a parking garage near the crime scene showed a man believed to be Gump switching license plates on the car, the complaint said.

Other video footage showed the same man driving to Gump’s home, the complaint said.

Police later searched Gump’s car, where tests showed the steering wheel cover had gunshot residue on it, the complaint said.

In 2021, Gump pleaded guilty to four criminal charges, including escape and fleeing from a police officer, court records show. A judge sentenced Gump to probation and time served in jail.

Because of the guilty plea on those charges, Gump cannot legally carry a gun, police said.