A man has died after being 'ambushed' by an assailant who lay in wait and shot him in the head as he left a restaurant in south-west London.

Officers were called to a takeaway in Fulham by a member of the public who witnessed the shooting at about 9.30pm on Monday.

Paramedics and Metropolitan Police officers found the 24-year-old victim slumped between the pavement and the front passenger seat of his parked silver Renault Captur car with a gunshot wound to the head.

Paramedics pronounced him dead at the scene in Walham Grove, near to the junction with up-market North End Road.

Detectives said they believe the victim, who was with a friend, had stopped to eat at a fast-food restaurant and was shot as he got back into his car.

Jorge Pardo, 30, who lives near the crime scene, told the Mirror: "I heard a noise like a firecracker and then saw two guys running in different directions.

"I heard shouting and we went downstairs and there were people in the road calling the police.

"A moment later a black fancy car pulled up and one of the guys that I saw running away jumped out and ran over to the body.

"He desperately held the body and he was shouting 'he's gone, he's gone'."

Police forensics at the scene of the shooting in Fulham (Tolga Akmen/LNP/REX/Shutterstock)

A manager at Jerky’s, the popular Caribbean restaurant were the man ate, said "everything was calm and cool" before the incident.

He told the Evening Standard: “Two men came into the shop. They ordered, sat down, ate and enjoyed their meal before the eventually left.

“I think it was their first time in here, I’ve never seen them before but everything was calm and cool. No-one was fighting, that’s why we’re all so shocked.

“They’d just left and crossed the road when I heard a loud bang. We didn’t see what happened. We just saw a car on the other side of the road. We didn’t go over as we didn’t want to get involved.

“The car door was open and he was shot in his car. It’s very sad. We don’t know the guy. There’s a lot of police and the road is cordoned off.”

DCI Noel McHugh of the Met's Homicide and Major Crime Command, 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.”

The gangs: 'You've got to be a bully' Show all 5 1 /5 The gangs: 'You've got to be a bully' The gangs: 'You've got to be a bully' <b>Highbury Estate, London:</b> “These guys didn't want to reveal their identities or the name of their gang. The contact who introduced me to them is a very close friend so I knew they would treat me with respect, but I don't know how friendly they would have been under other circumstances. If you're on their territory you need to show them respect and never show any fear. It's a very weird area – posh houses on one side of the road, crack dealers on the other" © Josh Cole The gangs: 'You've got to be a bully' <b>Hackney, London:</b> “The garages on this east London estate are known locally as 'The Darkies'. All sorts of criminal activity goes on around here. Some of these blocks have been knocked down now, but it's still a very dangerous place to be" © Josh Cole The gangs: 'You've got to be a bully' <b>Normanton, Derby:</b> “These guys were older and a bit more relaxed than some of the kids I met. I think their weapons were more for protection and intimidation than anything else. Machetes and samurai swords look frightening, but it's the kids with kitchen knives you have to watch" © Josh Cole The gangs: 'You've got to be a bully' <b>Brixton, London:</b> “These three belong to a gang called PDC – Poverty Driven Children. The one in the middle is JaJa – he's well known all over London as the main man. They're not actually involved in anything criminal these days, but are focused on making music and working with kids in the area instead" © Josh Cole The gangs: 'You've got to be a bully' <b>Normanton, Derby:</b> "This is a gang known as BCT – Browning Circle Terrorists. The area is bit of a hot spot for gangs but they're the top boys. Most of them are just teenagers. They brought only knives along, but I'm not certain that's all they carry" © Josh Cole

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.