AN UNARMED father of two was shot Wednesday inside the West Philadelphia house where he lives, by a cop responding to reports of a burglary at the residence, police said.
Stephen "Saddiq" Moore, 37, was hit by a bullet that went through his arm and into his chest. He remained in critical but stable condition yesterday at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, said Lt. Ray Evers, a police spokesman.
Police and Moore's attorney provided different versions of what happened inside the house on Christian Street near 60th.
Evers said police had received two reports of a burglary "or someone who did not belong in the house," about 4:45 p.m.
The first officer on the scene saw the door to the home ajar, Evers said. The cop entered and a confrontation ensued with Moore, who was unarmed, ending with the officer firing a single shot at Moore in the first-floor vestibule, Evers said.
"We don't know how it escalated to that much force being used to handle the situation," Evers said.
Internal Affairs and the District Attorney's Office are investigating.
Police, who originally had called Moore the homeowner, said otherwise yesterday. "He's not the official homeowner, but that doesn't mean he didn't reside or stay there at one period," Evers said.
But Moore's attorney, Craig Sokolow, said Moore owns the house. Sokolow said he was called to the scene Wednesday by one of his clients, Quality Air, for which Moore works part-time as a technician.
Sokolow, who visited Moore in intensive care yesterday, said Moore's outside door was shut when police arrived but an inner door was slightly ajar.
When Moore heard a disturbance, he walked downstairs and was immediately shot, according to Sokolow. Moore claims that the officer never said he was a cop and that no words were exchanged before he fired, Sokolow said.
"There was absolutely no confrontation whatsoever," Sokolow said.
The officer involved, who has five years on the force, has been placed on administrative duty until the investigations are complete.
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