A man opened fire at a board meeting for residents of apartments in northern Rome, killing three people and injuring others.

Rome Mayor Roberto Gualtieri called an emergency security meeting for after what he called “the grave episode of violence that has struck our city”.

In a tweet, he confirmed three people were killed in the shooting at a coffee shop in the working-class neighbourhood of Fidene.

“The shooting occurred in an enclosed outdoor seating area of the bar, called ‘Il Posto Giusto,’ or ‘The Right Place.'”

La Repubblica daily quoted witness Luciana Ciorba, vice president of the apartments board, as saying the man entered the bar shouting “I’ll kill you all,” and then opened fire.

People at the meeting managed to disarm him until Carabinieri police arrived.

Speaking in a video interview, Ms Ciorba said the man was known to board members and had been previously reported to authorities for making threats against local residents.