Three people have been arrested after a man was shot dead in a targeted attack inside a suburban high-rise in Melbourne’s east.

Residents reported hearing a loud bang inside the Box Hill apartment building on Whitehorse Road just before 2am on Thursday.

A man has been found dead inside a Box Hill apartment.

Around the same time, a fire alarm triggered the evacuation of dozens of residents from the same building.

A 32-year-old man died at the scene.

Late on Thursday, police made arrests in Bonnie Brook, in Melbourne’s north-west, and the regional towns of Talbot and Maryborough.

Two 47-year-old men from Bonnie Brook and a 27-year-old Maryborough woman will be interviewed in relation to the incident.

Police said a man was shot in the early hours of Thursday morning. A fight reportedly broke out inside an apartment on level 11.

Firefighters and paramedics also attended. “At 1.32am, Fire Rescue Victoria responded to an incident on Whitehorse Road at Box Hill after a fire alarm was activated,” FRV said in a statement.

Residents told Nine News they heard a loud bang in the early hours. Jessica Rodarowe, who lives in the building, said it was a scary situation.

“For about four hours we’ve been outside. They haven’t told us much, just that the worst has happened. I was asleep when the fire alarm went off,” she told Nine News.

Several more residents returned later on Thursday morning to find crime scene tape outside their complex.

Some were nurses coming home from a night shift, others were young people who had slept over at a friend’s place. None knew anything more about the shooting.

The manager of the Trio, Box Hill apartment complex declined to comment.

Victoria Police confirmed in a statement they were treating the incident as a targeted attack.

Homicide squad detectives are investigating.