The man was pronounced dead shortly before 0500 BST

The man, who has not been named, was attacked in the entrance to Club UK in the Stokes Croft area of the city in the early hours.

He suffered a gunshot wound to the chest and died later in hospital. Police believe he was in his late teens or early 20s.

A firearm has been recovered during a fingertip search of the local area, police said.

Detectives are also studying CCTV footage from the club and have appealed for anyone who was there to contact them.

Not clear

Det Supt Arthur Lewis, the man leading the investigation, said: "The club was still open at the time and there were a lot of people in it.

"Quite naturally people inside and outside the club would have been alarmed by what happened but we would still like to hear from them."

Mr Lewis said it was not clear why the man was shot but they were working "as quickly as we can to identify who was involved and why they were involved".

Police believe the incident happened at about 0400 BST after a disturbance in the entrance area of Club UK.

The man was taken to hospital where he was pronounced dead at 0500 BST. A post-mortem examination is due to be carried out on Saturday.