A Gwinnett County resident is in stable condition in a local hospital after a shooting outside his home early Sunday morning connected to car break-ins, police said.

Nelson Martinez  was shot twice in the chest about 1 a.m. after confronting someone on Lexington Drive in Lawrenceville, Gwinnett police spokesman Officer Jacob Albright said.

A neighbor told Channel 2 Action News the gunshots woke him up and he called 911.

“I know the difference between fireworks and a revolver, and that was a revolver,” the caller told dispatchers.

A friend of the 29-year-old victim drove him to Gwinnett Medical Center, police told Channel 2.

At the hospital, Martinez told police four men were breaking into two cars in front of his residence, Albright said. All four suspects got into a white, four-door sedan, possibly a Honda or Toyota.

Albright said five car break-ins were reported overnight on Lexington Drive. One car owner reported a gun was stolen, Albright said.

No additional information was available.

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