A 23-year-old woman called Fribourg’s cantonal police in the late afternoon to report that her partner, a 34-year-old Portuguese man, had shot their two daughters.

When police arrived at the apartment, both children were badly wounded, said Swiss TV station TSR.

Paramedics took the 6-year-old girl to hospital but could do nothing to save the baby’s life.

The woman, who showed no injuries, said the father had run away with a firearm in his hand. His body was discovered later in the evening in a nearby forest, where he lay dead beside his handgun.

An investigation is underway.