The police force has confirmed the incident of a 52-year-old woman and her 27-year-old son who were found dead at their home in northern Germany after apparently being mauled by their Staffordshire terrier Dog.

The pair were discovered at their flat in Hanover on Tuesday evening, after a relative saw the bloodied body of one of the victims through a window and rang the emergency services.

Firefighters were called in to capture the dog who was still inside the residence, Hanover police said in a statement. “Initial examinations by a coroner suggest the 52-year-old woman and her 27-year-old son were killed by the dog,” it read.

Police investigations into the incident are continuing, the statement added.