A plain-clothes police officer who shot a man dead during an attempted armed robbery at a Melbourne bottle shop was already inside the store when the masked man burst in, a coronial hearing has been told.

Tory Van Den Bemt was armed with a gun when he tried to rob the family-run store in Park Orchards, in Melbourne's north-east, in January.

A mandatory coronial inquest will be held into his death.

A directions hearing heard that when Mr Van Den Bemt burst into the store, a police officer was already inside with the store's owner and his son.

Police have previously said they were in the area on the night investigating a series of armed robberies.

The hearing was told there was an exchange of gunfire inside the bottle shop as the police officer shot at Mr Van Den Bemt and the 48-year-old returned fire.

Mr Van Den Bemt was then "overcome" by gunshots, and fell to the ground, where he died.

A plain-clothes police officer shot dead a man who burst into a bottle shop with a gun and a mask. ( ABC News )

The shop owner, his son, and the police officer were uninjured in the incident.

The coroner heard that CCTV inside the store captured the events of the evening.

It also heard that medical and toxicological examinations had been conducted, but the results were yet to be finalised.

Coroner Sarah Hinchey adjourned the investigation while police conducted their own internal investigation and a coronial brief of evidence is prepared, which could take months.

She said the internal report "will be almost the most important document" in the inquest.

Mr Van Den Bemt's father, and his partner, were inside the court for the hearing.

Criminal proceedings are underway against two of Mr Van Den Bemt's alleged co-offenders.