A police manhunt is under way in the US after a gunman shot and killed a four-year-old girl in a car.

The child’s grandmother and three siblings, aged 7, 6, and 3, were sitting with her in the vehicle but were not hurt.

A murder warrant has been issued for the arrest of the suspect, Darnell Bitting, who police described as “armed and dangerous”.

The 31-year-old is said to be banned from possessing weapons.

Officers said the shooting happened after a woman drove to a home in Akron, Ohio, with her mother and four children in the car to retrieve some property inside. When no one answered the door, she broke several windows.

Bitting then came out of the house with a rifle and fired a shot that struck the car, hitting the four-year-old, according to WKYC.

The girl was taken to Akron Children's Hospital, where she was pronounced dead. She had not yet been publicly identified.