Gwinnett Man Shot During Car Break-In Attempt

LAWRENCEVILLE, GA — A Gwinnett County man who was trying to break up a robbery attempt was shot twice in the chest early Sunday, according to police.

Gwinnett County Police officers were called at about 1 a.m. to 354 Lexington Dr. near Lawrenceville. When they arrived, they learned that a man had been shot and taken to GMC Lawrenceville before they got there.

As detectives began investigating the scene, officers went to the hospital where Nelson Martinez, 29, was being treated for two gunshot wounds to the chest. According to a witness, four men were breaking into two different vehicles in front of the Lexington Drive home.

Martinez chased them and tackled one of them to the ground, according to the witness. Then, about five shots were fired by one of the other robbers, he said.

No one else was injured in the shooting, according to police. Officers found the two vehicles in question, which appeared to have been broken into. A gun was reported stolen from one of them, police said.

Martinez was in stable condition at GMC Lawrenceville after undergoing emergency surgery.

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