Updated 9pm
Eric Borg, a 27-year-old man from Rabat, was shot dead in his hometown on New Year's Day.
The suspect was arrested in Rabat after almost three hours on the run.
The police were informed at 3.28pm that an injured man was lying on the ground on Triq Fidloqqom, in the area of Nigret.
The victim was involved in an argument with another man, the police told the media two hours after the murder.
He was shot twice and died from the wounds soon after. He was certified dead on site.
Times of Malta is informed that Borg did not live far from the murder site.
Police spokesperson Brandon Pisani said the aggressor probably acted on his own though the motive is still unknown.
It is unclear whether the victim or the suspect are known to the police.
The alleged shooter - a Maltese national - was arrested shortly after the police said they had started hunting for him.
Sources said the suspect turned himself in to the police after finding out a search had been mounted.
People started gathering behind police tape cordoning off the site of the murder. Photo: Matthew MirabelliWhen Times of Malta arrived on site at around 4.15pm, the road had been cordoned off by police as Borg's body, covered in a white sheet, still lay on the pavement next to a parked car.
Onlookers started gathering around the site minutes after news of the murder broke.
A neighbour told Times of Malta she was washing the dishes when she heard a loud bang on the street, shouting followed by another loud bang.
"I didn't think it was a gunshot at first, but then I heard loud sirens. This is a very quiet area nothing like this ever happened," she added.
Emergency physician Jonathan Joslin and Chief of Homicide Squad Superintendent Keith Arnaud were among those on site.
Soon after 5pm, the police started setting up floodlights at the murder scene as the sun was setting.
It is the first murder since a 73-year-old man and his 56-year-old partner were killed at a garage in Marsa in October.
Emergency physician Jonathan Joslin on site. Photo: Matthew Mirabelli
Chief of Homicide Squad Superintendent Keith Arnaud on site. Photo: Matthew Mirabelli
Forensics on site. Photo: Matthew Mirabelli