At least four people are reported to have been injured in a drive-by shooting apparently targeting black people in the central Italian city of Macerata.

Schools were put into lockdown and residents warned to stay inside after shots were fired in the city centre from a dark-coloured car, according to the Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera.

Police said that a suspect was held two hours after the shooting rampage began at around 11am. There were reports that a second person may have also been in the car.

Officials have not confirmed the number of victims, but said all those injured were foreigners. The news agency ANSA says they are all black.

Macerata was the scene of the gruesome killing of a young white Italian woman this week, whose dismembered remains were found in two suitcases. The chief suspect is a Nigerian immigrant.

The news agency ANSA said witnesses reported that the car was seen in the area where the woman's body was found.