Three people died in a shooting in the German town of Glinde on Sunday evening.

Two children, aged 11 and 13, were shot dead. Police failed to resuscitate a 44-year-old man found at the scene, while a 38-year-old woman was taken to hospital with serious bullet wounds.

The Lübeck public prosecutor is investigating the suspected domestic violence incident, which took place in the southern part of the state of Schleswig-Holstein, just outside the port city of Hamburg.

The casualties are believed to be members of the same family who had been living in the home for some time.

The public prosecutor's office did not say who fired the shots or if the 44-year-old was the biological father of the children.

Germany sees more domestic violence

Earlier this month, three children and two adults were killed in a separate suspected domestic violence incidents in Brandenburg.

Domestic violence has been rising in Germany, with some claiming  coronavirus lockdowns are exacerbating the issue.

In 2020, 119,164 women and 28,867 men were victims of domestic violence, according to the German federal criminal police office (BKA) — an increase of around 5% from the previous year.

Across the country, police recorded one attempted homicide of a woman every single day on average. And every 2 1/2 days, a woman dies at the hand of her partner, or former partner.

The number of unreported incidents of domestic violence is difficult to estimate, with many victims afraid to go to the police because they fear they will not be believed.

aw/dj (AFP, dpa, AP)