A MAN is fighting for his life after being shot inside a tattoo parlour in Melbourne’s south east and the gunman is on the run.

Police said the man, aged in his 30s, has been taken to the Alfred Hospital in a critical condition after shots were fired inside the parlour, called Nitro Ink, on Fordholm Road in Hampton Park.

The parlour is part of the Nitro group of businesses including gyms, security services and tattoo outlets that have in the past been linked to bikie boss Mick Murray.

Murray is the national president of the Comanchero gang and is currently behind bars.

A number of witnesses told news.com.au they heard gunshots and screaming at the scene at around 1pm.

A man working in a store nearby, who did not wish to be named, said he heard shots ring out as close as “five metres away” but didn’t see the gunman.

“I couldn’t count how many shots,” he said.

Another employee of a store along the strip of shops where Nitro Ink is located said they heard “shots fired then screaming”.

Police are hunting the gunman, who is believed to have fled the scene.

Another Nitro Ink shop in Dandenong was shot up in 2013 in violence linked to the Hells Angels.

Comanchero Williamstown chapter president Faafatia Faaloia was shot in the back hours before a Nitro gym and tattoo parlour owned by Murray were targeted in an attack.

At least 17 shots were fired into the building, police said at the time.

In relation to today’s shooting, a spokeswoman for Victoria Ambulance said paramedics were called to the scene at around 1.15pm and treated a man for serious injuries to his upper body.

“He was taken to Alfred Hospital with serious injuries,” she added.

A number of businesses nearby offered statements to police. A woman from Nga’s Kitchen, directly adjacent to the parlour, said she didn’t hear or see anything.

It’s unclear if a car found torched nearby is connected to the shooting.

Nitro Ink opens doors at 11am and the shooting is believed to have taken place shortly after 1pm. The business has been operating for seven years and employs five tattoo artists.

More to come ...