65-year-old confronted thieves trying to steal his car. He's now in critical condition.

DEKALB COUNTY, Ga. — Police are searching for a group of thieves who shot a 65-year-old man on his way to take his grandchildren to school in DeKalb County.

Police said the group of men tried to steal a car on Stonington Trace in the Ellenwood subdivision when the vehicle's owner confronted them.

Channel 2's Tyisha Fernandes has learned the victim is in critical condition.

When the victim returned to the car, he caught the group in the act. He confronted them and one of the thieves shot him in the chest.

Someone called 911 and paramedics transported the man to the hospital where he is in critical condition. Police have not released his identity.

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Fernandes talked to neighbors, who were shocked at such a brazen crime in their neighborhood. Sheryl Price said she's not used to waking up to gunshots and crime scene investigations.

"We have had problems with break-ins, but I’ve been here since 2006 and this is the first time that I can remember we’ve had any problems like shootings," Sheryl Price told Fernandes.

Price said the victim is an active member of the community who works with her on the neighborhood watch committee to prevent crime.

"He is a member of our neighborhood watch," Price said. "He does really good things around the community. He doesn’t bother anybody."

Price hopes all the residents in the neighborhood learn from the horrible incident.

"Next time we have a neighborhood watch meeting, we ask that they would go ahead and come out so that they can understand whats going on here," Price said. "We can't stop people from doing this but we can deter them."

Cox Media Group