Assault victim 'well known' to Sydney cops

An elderly man who was bashed over the head with a gun in an inner-Sydney unit is awaiting trial for commercial drug supply charges, police say.

Neighbours of the building in Barcom Avenue, Darlinghurst, were woken by a gunshot about 4.20am on Tuesday and emergency services later found the man, 76, with a head injury.

He was taken to the nearby St Vincent's Hospital in a stable condition but was released about four hours later.

Detective Superintendent Michael Fitzgerald said the man was well known to police in the area and would face court in July over the alleged commercial supply of heroin.

"I can say to the public this was not a random act, it was a targeted attack," he told reporters in Kings Cross.

The man's daughter and another person were home at the time.

"This is a brazen attack on a male person who is well known to police, but that does not take away from the fact that members of the public are entitled to feel protected in their houses," Det Fitzgerald said.

"This has obviously shaken them up."

Officers have spent much of Tuesday morning scouring the crime scene for evidence of what type of weapon was used.