A major police operation is under way at Sydney’s Bondi Junction after a man was shot dead while sitting in his car.

Gun shots were heard about 8.30am on Tuesday, with roads surrounding Spring Street shut down soon after, near the popular Westfield shopping complex.

“A man has died after being shot at Bondi Junction today,” NSW Police said in a statement.

They said he was sitting in his vehicle at a car park when he was targeted.

“The male driver died at the scene. He has not been formally identified but is believed to be aged in his 40s,” the statement said.

They did not address reports Tuesday’s deadly incident was the latest in a spate of gangland killings in Sydney.

Roads have been closed and drivers are being urged to avoid the area. Three crime scenes have been established.

The police operation covered the area between Spring Street (on the corner of Newland Street) and Denison Street, Waverley Council said.

A staff member at a local coffee shop told the ABC he saw police officers in bullet-proof vests swarm the street before 9am.

He said they ran into an apartment building.

“It all happened so quick … there was so much commotion,” he said.

The street was blocked at both ends, and his customers could not leave the coffee shop for about an hour.

“They weren’t letting anyone in or out,” he said.

The man said he saw one person being taken away in an ambulance.

Later on Tuesday morning, a police helicopter hovered over Bondi Junction. Police had also taped off the area.

“This part of Bondi Junction is closed to all traffic, pedestrians and cyclists for the next few hours,” Woollahra Council said in a statement.

Police believe a burnt-out Porsche found on James Street, Bondi Junction, early on Tuesday, is linked to the shooting.

They are also investigating whether a second burnt-out vehicle – a Holden Commodore found on Cook Lane, Zetland – is potentially also linked.

-with AAP