Luca Traini, 28, remained detained on Sunday as he was investigated on multiple charges of attempted murder with the aggravating circumstance of racial hatred for the attack the previous day in Macerata.
The five men and one woman wounded in the two-hour shooting rampage were from Nigeria, Ghana, the Gambia and Mali, according to RAI.
After the assault, the Mr Traini got out of his car, allegedly made a fascist salute with an Italian flag draped over his shoulders and shouted “Viva Italia”, or “Long Live Italy”, and “Italy for Italians”.
The shooting came a day after a Nigerian man was arrested in the town over the brutal murder of 18-year-old Italian girl Pamela Mastropietro.
Lt Col Michele Roberti, the Carabinieri commander in Macerata, told Italian news channel Sky TG24 on Sunday that Mr Traini had shown no remorse for the attack and “it’s likely that he carried out this crazy gesture as a sort of retaliation, a sort of vendetta” for Ms Mastropietro’s murder.
Italian authorities said they had found a copy of Adolf Hitler’s Mein Kampf, other publications linked to Nazism and a flag with a Celtic cross, a symbol commonly used by white supremacists, in Mr Traini’s home.
Italian Interior Minister Marco Minniti said the attack reflected a culture “of right-wing extremism with clear reference to fascism and Nazism”.
Mr Traini is a member of the far-right anti-immigration Northern League (LN) party and had unsuccessfully run in local elections last year.
LN chief Matteo Salvini condemned the attack in the lead-up to Italy’s general election on March 4.
“Someone who shoots is a delinquent, irrespective of the colour of his skin,” he declared.
“I’m in a hurry to be in government to bring back security, social justice and serenity to Italy.”
