Victim, 24, found in the passenger seat of car with a gunshot wound to the head in south-west London

A 24-year-old man has died after being shot in the head in a suspected ambush outside a takeaway, police have said.

Officers were called to reports of shots fired in Fulham, south-west London, at about 9.30pm on Monday.

Metropolitan police officers and members of the ambulance service found the man in the front passenger seat of his parked Renault Captur with a gunshot wound to the head. He was pronounced dead at the scene in Walham Grove.

Detectives believe that the victim, who was with a friend, had stopped to buy something to eat at a fast-food restaurant and was shot as he was getting into his car by someone thought to have been lying in wait.

DCI Noel McHugh, who is leading the investigation, said: “North End Road and Walham Grove would have been busy at that time of night. I would like to hear from anyone who may have seen or heard something that could help us catch the person responsible for this murder.

“It would appear that the murderer had been waiting in the street in Walham Grove for a while for the friends to return to their car. Did you see someone hanging around in the area from about 8.30pm up until the time of the murder?

“At this stage in our investigation, we are keeping an open mind regarding motive and will be trying to establish the victim’s precise movements in the days running up to his murder.”

Scotland Yard said the identity of the victim was known and his next of kin had been informed. A postmortem and formal identification have yet to take place.

No arrests have been made and police are appealing for witnesses.