A 29-year-old Nigerian migrant has been arrested in Italy in connection with the death of an 18-year-old Italian woman whose dismembered body of was discovered hidden in two suitcases near Macerata.

The Nigerian suspect, who was denied asylum last year but has remained in Italy, has refused to talk to police, reports from Italy said. His name was not given but the alleged victim was identified as Pamela Mastropietro.

A preliminary postmortem on the teenager could not immediately identify her cause of death.

“Magistrates say witnesses saw the Nigerian suspect carrying the suitcases that were later found to contain the teenager’s body. They also found blood-stained clothes and knives in his possession,” a Reuters report said.

The incident has been cited as a probable cause of Saturday’s tragedy in which a man opened fire on passersby in the central Italian city of Macerata, injuring several African migrants in an attack that appeared to be racially motivated.

A Reuters report quoted local media as reporting that at least six migrants, including one woman, were shot by a man driving around the city, located about 200 km (125 miles) east of Rome, and firing from his car window.

“Shots fired in Macerata. People injured. Police operation under way. Stay out of the way and avoid open places,” the police said on Twitter. Shortly afterwards, police said one man had been arrested.

State television Rai said the suspect was a white Italian man who came from Macerata.

The website of newspaper Corriere della Sera said a man fired from a car window at two young African migrants shortly after 11 a.m. (1000 GMT) Saturday, wounding one of them. A short while later two other migrants, including a woman, were shot.

It was not immediately clear how serious their injuries were.

Update news