Police stopped vehicles early Wednesday. Kevin Harvey/CBC

Police are on the hunt for a shooter after 44-year-old Eddie Phalen was shot in front of his house in Trenton, N.S., on Tuesday.

Investigators were going door-to-door Wednesday while others used metal detectors to scour the road for evidence.

Police were called to Mechanic Street at about 8 p.m. after a 911 caller reported shots in the area.

"He was having a nap. He went down the street to get a pack of cigarettes and come home and he must've met somebody in the yard here and had a confrontation right here. There was just two loud bangs," said family member Darrell Buell.

The father-in-law of the victim, Mike MacKenzie, told CBC News that four children ranging in age from four to nine were inside at the time.

"[He's] got four babies there ... and the little one just started school last September and that's pretty much all I can really tell you. Everybody's pretty well mourning right now," said MacKenzie.

Buell says he has no idea why anyone would want to kill his brother-in-law.

"I don't have any idea, [he] is quiet a family man and bought this place six months ago, but they're both from Trenton, grew up in Trenton. It's hard to say. God knows what's going on here. Hopefully they'll sort it soon enough," he said.

MacKenzie said one of his granddaughters called him just after 8 p.m., screaming that her father had been shot and was lying outside.

He said his daughter told him later that she heard two shots.

Police said they want to speak with anyone who saw a suspect fleeing Mechanic Street after the shooting.

Roadblocks were up at all approaches into Trenton earlier Wednesday. The CBC's Kevin Harvey said police were checking all vehicles.