Police: 56-year-old man shot in the face at West Philly home

A man is in critical but stable condition and a gunman remains at large after a shooting in West Philadelphia late Wednesday night.

Brenda Williams says it was just after 11 p.m. Wednesday night when she was startled by the sound of gunfire right outside her South Cecil Street home. Then, she heard her next door neighbor's wife screaming.

"She said my husband's been shot. He's on the floor," Williams recalled.

Police say 56-year-old Nathaniel Campbell, the painter who lives next door, had just been shot outside his home. According to police, he made it inside and collapsed as the gunman kept shooting. One bullet crashed through a front window and through a wall. The victim's wife and two grandchildren were asleep upstairs.

"He's a nice guy. We all love him," Williams added.

"He's a working class guy. He's well-loved in the neighborhood," Lt. John Walker of Southwest Detectives told FOX 29.

"This is family here, maybe not by blood, but it's family here," Steven Fred Sr. said. He runs the V&S Elmwood Lanes bowling alley where the victim was just prior to the shooting. He says the victim had just left the bowling alley.

"He's one of the good guys. He's one of my league bowlers. Comes in--bowls with his buddies-- brings his grand kids," Fred said.

"We're not quite sure what happened at this point. We have no motive for this crime," Lt. Walker explained.

Detectives are still trying to figure out just what happened. They say it could have been a robbery gone bad. They hope to speak to the victim soon..

"Looks to be a good grandfather who does the right thing. Taking care of his grandkids and goes out bowling," Lt. Walker said.

"I'm praying he pulls through," Williams added.

Police say the shooters may have been driving a dark colored pickup truck. Patrol officers from the 18th District picked the wounded victim up and raced him to a nearby trauma center--helping save his life.