GASTONIA, N.C. -- Police are on the hunt for a gunman after a shooting Sunday afternoon.
The shooting happened on Winget Street, on the south side of Gastonia, near Hudson Boulevard around 3:30 p.m.
Gastonia police responded to calls of shots fired. When the first officer arrived they found the victim on his porch with several gunshot wounds. The victim’s name is Larry Bittle.
Bittle was able to tell the officer he’d been asleep in his bedroom when he heard someone breaking down his door.
He told authorities, four men were armed with semi-automatic handguns. Bittle says the men busted down his front door and then broke into his bedroom trying to rob him.
When he told the thieves he didn't have anything, they shot him in the chest and abdomen.
He collapsed on his front porch. The men left the scene in a dark colored car.
Law enforcement believes drugs may have been involved. Bittle, who is a club promoter, has numerous arrests for drug possession and drug dealing.
Bittle is listed in critical condition at Carolinas Medical Center.
