Mapp, Steven Bruce Brown Jr., 31, and John Gifford shared a house on Richard Drive. Gifford, who witnessed the fight, said Brown pulled out a gun and Mapp grabbed his hand at the same time.
” … whether he fired it or it went off on accident, I really don’t know,” Gifford said. “I was standing right there and they both had their hands up in the air moving around. I couldn’t believe it happened when I saw it. Almost like a movie.”
Gifford said the two men were in the living room when he heard their voices grow louder, so he went to check on them.
“Nothing seemed to be going on, but then one of them popped off and the other one didn’t like it and they started throwing blows — which they never did,” he said. “No one ever gets violent. They were always real easy going guys. Real good guys, both of them. Tragedy.”
Brown and Mapp were good friends, according to Gifford.
“We were all pretty good friends, I wouldn’t believe Bruce would have shot anybody to tell you the truth,” Gifford said. “He has to be scared. I know he’s terrified now. He’s a little timid for lack of a better term. He’s smart but he’s just shy I guess. They’re both good guys, both of them. It’s a tragedy.”
Brown is being held in the Greene County Jail on a murder charge — a first-degree felony. His bond is $20,000 cash.
Police and emergency personnel were dispatched around 1:15 a.m. in response to a reported shooting.
Neighbors described the area as a good neighborhood and said they were surprised to hear about the shooting.
“Been here more than a year and we haven’t had anything,” said Rhea Arehart. “Not even an argument in the front yard.”
Mapp’s death is the most recent homicide in the city. Earnest R. Starling Jr., 35, of Springfield, was shot and killed outside a home on Church Street on Nov. 25, 2014.
On Thursday, Angie Gillon, who lives in the area, said she felt sorry for Mapp’s family.
“That is a young man, he had a life ahead of him,” Gillon said.
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