More police are being deployed in Rome after robbers shot and killed a man and his eight-month-old child outside their home.

Officers in the Italian capital said the killings happened last night when robbers confronted a Chinese immigrant, his wife and daughter, and demanded receipts from the family's business.

When the father refused, the robbers stabbed and wounded the wife, and fired gunshots which pierced the child's skull and struck the father's heart.

Prefect Giuseppe Pecoraro said 130 officers and detectives will be added to the city's force.

Last year, Rome was alarmed by several bold street gun murders, apparently carried out by suspected mobsters.

Sign up to our free newsletters

Get the best updates straight to your inbox:
Please select at least one mailing list.

You can unsubscribe at any time by clicking the link in the footer of our emails. We use Mailchimp as our marketing platform. By subscribing, you acknowledge that your information will be transferred to Mailchimp for processing.