A MAN was shot at point-blank range on his own doorstep.
Police believe the 42-year-old victim was deliberately targeted by his attackers who struck at his home on Crowther Street in Aspley.
They hammered on the door in a passageway at 11.15pm on Saturday night and when the victim opened it, he was blasted in the left leg with a shotgun.
The two attackers then fled down Crowther Street, into Colne Street and then through a snicket on to Wakefield Road.
The victim staggered down the passageway and collapsed next to Firth Street.
He was today said to be in a stable condition in the intensive care unit at a West Yorkshire hospital.
Detectives are not naming the hospital for security reasons, but say the man's injuries are not life-threatening.
The Huddersfield attack is the latest in a series of shocking gun crimes across Britain.
Last Tuesday jeweller Marian Bates, 64, was shot dead by a robber during a raid on her shop in Nottingham.
On Friday, David King, 32, was gunned down with an automatic weapon in Hertfordshire.
Another man injured in the current wave of gun crime was DJ Andre Shepherd, the brother of a rapper with award-winning group Big Brovaz, it emerged today.
And yesterday, Jon Otsemobor, 20, a Liverpool Football Club defender, was shot in the buttocks as he sat drinking with friends in a bar.
In Huddersfield, neighbours were horrified by the scenes at Aspley.
While some helped the victim after hearing the blast and his cries for help, others woke up to the news yesterday morning.
One man said: "It's a very quiet area. There's shock, really, that something like that could happen around here."
He added: "He says `hello' when he walks past while walking the dog. He's usually a nice, quiet bloke. That's why it's a shock."
He described the sound of the shooting as like an "explosion".
He said the victim lived with a girlfriend.
Another man said neighbours rushed to help after they heard the shot and the man's distress.
He said: "Someone went towards that passage by his house, had a look and saw blood.
"I see the victim all the time, either going to work or walking his dog."
After the shooting, two men dressed in dark clothes were seen running away towards Wakefield Road past the Flyboat Inn.
Det Insp Steve Hepplestone, of Huddersfield CID, said: "We believe they ran on to Wakefield Road. Did they have a getaway vehicle waiting and did anyone see them getting into a car?
"They may have been agitated after the shooting."
He added: "We believe the victim was deliberately targeted by his attackers."
Anyone who saw the incident, or who knows anything about it, is asked to contact Huddersfield CID on 01484 436582 or Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.
