District Attorney Diane Gibbons identified the other person in the pawn shop when the shots rang out as Vitaly Liberman, 34, a white male, of Rutland Street in Philadelphia.

"It became clear during the investigation that the customer inside the Check Cashing Station inspecting video equipment was there for a different purpose," Gibbons said yesterday.

"He is, in fact, a confederate of the two men who attempted to rob the store. (Liberman) was inside to make sure the two people who were inside the bulletproof booth to come out so they could be robbed."

Once they were tipped off by Liberman via cell phone that the employees were out of the booth, Philadelphia residents Walter Earl Leon, 19, and Pedrita Moreta, 21, with a black substance of their faces to make it look as if they had mustaches, stormed into the pawn shop located at 721 Bristol Pike at around 2 p.m., Gibbons said.

Moreta opened fire and store owner Firas Nusire probably returned the fire, police surmise.

"It was quite a shootout inside that store," Gibbons said.

"We will have to investigate which bullets went where."

In the end, Nusire was shot in the elbow, Moreta was shot in the left abdomen, Liberman sustained gun shots to the right shoulder and right thigh and display cases, front glass door and more was shattered by bullets.

"There were a lot of shots fired in a small space," said Lt. Chick McGuigan, police spokesman.

"We don’t know how many shots were fired."

Leon and Moreta were captured minutes later in the back seat of a 1998 Dodge Intrepid on nearby Belmont Avenue.

Police found the keys to the car in Liberman’s pocket after being found lying on the floor of the pawn shop, tipping investigators off to the ruse.

Nusire was transferred yesterday from Frankford Torresdale Hospital to Temple University Hospital in Philadelphia for specialized care, Gibbons said.

Liberman remains at Frankford Torresdale in critical condition with a spinal cord injury and Moreta is in St. Mary’s Medical Center in Langhorne recovering from surgery. Both suspects are under 24-hour police guard, Gibbons said.

Leon, Moreta and Liberman have been charged with two counts each of attempted murder, aggravated assault, robbery, recklessly endangering another person, a one count each of burglary, possession of an instrument of crime, conspiracy and carrying a weapon without a license.

Leon was taken to the Bucks County Correctional Facility in lieu of $2 million bail.