A man has shot dead a woman in front of staff and customers at a McDonald's restaurant on the Gold Coast.

The woman had just entered the outlet on Siganto Drive at 9.15am, when the man followed her in and shot her in the head. He then turned the gun on himself.

First responders, including a motorcycle officer, attempted to resuscitate the woman but she died at the scene.

Detective Inspector Mark White said the man had been taken to the Gold Coast University Hospital with critical injuries to the head.