Police believe a young man found dead on a quiet street was the victim of a “needless and senseless” murder after arranging to meet someone in the dead of night.

The man was found unresponsive on Barrpowell Street, a cul-de-sac  abutting the River Torrens, about 1.30am on Wednesday.

Witnesses attempted to revive him but he died at the scene.

Police believe the man arranged to meet with someone known to him at the spot where he was found, and that person is his likely killer.

“In terms of offenders, and who that might be or the motive for it, it’s too early to speculate on that at this stage,” Detective Superintendent Des Bray said.

“But given that the majority of murders are solved in this state, I have no doubt that we’ll be able to get to the bottom of this.

“We’ve got a large number of detectives and uniformed people working across Adelaide at the moment.”

It is believed the victim lived locally, as he made his way to the location on foot.

Det Supt Bray said investigators were yet to find a murder weapon and it was to early to say what was the man’s cause of death.

“But he died a needless and senseless death,” he said. \”I’m sure that when we get to the bottom of this it will be for some trivial reason.”

Police are urging any witnesses to come forward.

As the area is densely populated with industrial buildings, police are hopeful CCTV footage or security guards working late at night might be able to shed light on the incident.

– AAP