Six people have been shot dead and two others are severely injured in a series of apparently random attacks over nearly seven hours in Michigan.

It had been reported that a 14-year-old girl was among the dead, but it has now been confirmed she survived.

Police were first called at around 7.50pm local time on Saturday to an apartment building in Kalamazoo County where a woman was severely injured after being shot many times.

Hours later officers were called to a car dealership, where two people had been shot dead.

Kalamazoo Undersheriff Paul Matyas

Later, four people, including a father and son, were killed at a restaurant car park where the shooter reportedly opened fire on people sitting in their cars.

A 14-year-old girl there was seriously injured.

Kalamazoo County Undersheriff Paul Matyas said: "We seem to be dealing with a worst-case scenario: someone driving around, finding people and shooting them dead in their tracks."

He said that the shootings seemed to be "random" and the work of the same gunman, adding: "I would say definitely it's a serial killer."

At around 1.50am local time, police said they had arrested a suspect, who was being questioned in custody.

Local man Jason Dalton, 45, was detained in central Kalamazoo following a massive manhunt, said the city's department of public safety chief Jeff Hadley.

Authorities said he did not resist arrest and weapons were found in his vehicle.

Mr Matyas added: "The threat to the public is over. We now have our suspect.