About 6pm today, neighbours called emergency services to Annaluke Street in Riverstone, where they found a man believed to be in his 30s with gunshot wounds to his upper torso.

He was treated by paramedics but died at the scene.

Police were yet to identify the man but said he was believed to be a local resident who had been out for a walk, although that hadn’t been confirmed.

Superintendent Jason Joyce said investigations continued tonight at the Annaluke Street site and two other crime scenes where burnt-out vehicles were found soon after the shooting.

“It’s very brazen, and it’s a shame that this is happening in our community,” he told the media at Riverstone police station tonight.

“You’d want to think that in a residential area like that, people could wander the streets at that time of night and be safe, but we do believe it’s a targeted attack.”

Neighbours told police they saw a red Audi speeding away from the scene with one person inside after firing on the man from within the vehicle.

About 15 minutes later, emergency services were called to a car fire nearby on Riverstone Road, near Clarke Street.

Firefighters extinguished the blaze, but the Audi was destroyed.

A white van found alight shortly after on Mathis Street in Riverstone was also destroyed.

“There is some indication that they were driving around that area earlier in the evening, but we’re yet to confirm that, and obviously we’ll make inquiries in relation to what CCTV footage we can find from residents in that area,” Joyce said, when asked whether the van had been seen before the shooting.

He said there was nothing at this stage to indicate tonight’s shooting was linked to the interception of an alleged “kill squad” on the way to a daycare centre in Revesby yesterday but police would be “following all forms of inquiries”.

After the fourth apparently gangland-linked shooting in the past month, Joyce sought to reassure residents police were putting “a lot of resources” into tackling the issue and called for people to report anything suspicious.

“My heart goes out to the family of this victim and certainly any of the people that witnessed it,” he said.

“It would have been a horrific thing to witness, and it’s certainly not something we tolerate in the community and certainly NSW Police are putting a lot of effort into trying to target these sorts of offences.”

Anyone with information is urged to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.