German police uncovered the bodies of five people, including three children, in the town of Königs Wusterhausen in Brandenburg on Saturday.

The victims showed signs of having been shot and stabbed, the public prosecutor's office and police said in a joint statement.

"We are working on the assumption that this is a homicide," a police spokesperson said.

What do we know so far?

Police said they received a call from a person shortly before noon, who was concerned that the residents of the home were nowhere to be seen. Witnesses also reported seeing lifeless people in the house. Once police arrived at the scene, it was established that the occupants had died.

Three of the dead were children aged 4, 8 and 10. The two adults were both aged 40, police said.

The bodies were found in a family home located in the state of Brandenburg, which borders the capital, Berlin.

The scene was cordoned off while forensic investigators combed the area. Among those assisting with investigations was an expert from the Brandenburg Institute for Forensic Medicine.

kb/dj (AFP, dpa)