Italian authorities say a writer with extreme right-wing political views has shot and killed two Senegalese street vendors and wounded three other Africans in a pair of shootings in Florence.

Officials say 50-year-old Gianluca Casseri opened fire with a large pistol at Piazza Dalmazia Tuesday, killing two men and seriously wounding a third. He later shot and wounded two more vendors at the San Lorenzo market in what are thought to be racially motivated shootings.

Casseri later committed suicide in a parking garage as he was being approached by police.

The shootings sparked protests by members of the African community as scores of demonstrators marched in Florence to demand justice.